By Headlinenews.News Health Correspondent
Food safety begins before a pot reaches the fire. Keeping deteriorating yam for another meal can expose households to avoidable risks, particularly when visible mould is dismissed as a harmless surface blemish.
The Yoruba saying, “Ọ̀nà ọ̀fun ni ọ̀nà ọ̀run”—the throat is the way to heaven—offers a reminder that what we eat deserves careful attention.
Moulds grow through microscopic threads called hyphae, which can extend beneath a food’s surface. The visible patch may therefore reveal only part of the contamination. Appearance alone cannot identify the fungus or establish whether toxins are present.
Certain Aspergillus moulds can produce aflatoxins. Nigerian research has documented aflatoxin contamination in dried yam chips, while studies of yam-derived foods show that contamination varies. Finding Aspergillus does not automatically mean aflatoxin is present: not every strain produces it.
The World Health Organisation warns that aflatoxins can damage the liver and cause liver cancer. The concern is exposure through contaminated food, not “repeated infections”. Many mycotoxins survive food processing, so boiling, frying or roasting cannot be relied upon to make contaminated food safe.
Respiratory illness is a separate issue. Breathing Aspergillus spores can cause allergic disease or infection, especially in people with weakened immunity or existing lung disease. Most healthy people exposed to these spores do not become ill. A cough alone does not establish exposure from yam.
Households should inspect stored yam regularly and avoid eating visibly mouldy or rotten portions. Where deterioration is extensive, or safety is uncertain, discard the affected piece rather than attempting to rescue it through cooking. Do not sniff mouldy food closely; clean contaminated storage surfaces and keep sound produce away from spoiled items.
Preventing waste matters, but protecting health matters more. A suspicious piece of yam is never worth gambling a family’s wellbeing.
