The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), a Pan - African non-governmental organisation, has released a new report exposing the deceptive marketing strategies employed by food and beverage companies across seven states in Nigeria to promote unhealthy diets.
At a media presentation in Lagos, CAPPA unveiled the organisation's latest investigative report on the deceptive marketing strategies used by food and beverages companies across seven states, showing how unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are being pushed into homes, schools and the community at large.
This is just as the organisation in its recommendations sought an increase in SSBs tax from N10 to N113.
The seven states include; Abuja, Imo, Kaduna, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger and Osun State.
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The report titled "Junk on our plates: Exposing Deceptive Marketing of Unhealthy Foods Across Seven States in Nigeria" provides a critical examination of the offline strategies employed by the food industry to normalise and promote the consumption of unhealthy diets and offers actionable recommendations to safeguard the well-being of Nigerians.
According to the report, in Nigeria, the consumption of unhealthy foods is directly linked to the rise of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetics and hypertension, as observed by the Federal Ministry of Health and in response to this growing problem, many countries have implemented various policies such as taxes on SSBs, restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children and food labelling regulations.
"This report illuminates how these tactics influence consumer choices and compromise public health, particularly among vulnerable populations. It concludes by providing actionable insights for policy advocacy and breaking the industry's stranglehold on local food environments." Part of the report read.
Speaking at the media presentation, Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA's executive director, highlights how both multinational and local companies continue to leverage false narratives, misleading labels and aggressive marketing to push unhealthy foods and drinks into our homes and communities, creating illnesses that pose as a threat to the health of many Nigerians.
Oluwafemi said the Nigerian diet is changing rapidly and not for the better.
He explains that the diets are made up of highly processed, sugar-heavy, and nutrient-poor products, while traditional meals that offer better nutrition are being pushed to the margins and this shift hasn't come without consequences.
"We are now dealing with illnesses and non-communicable diseases that were once considered "Oyibo sickness." Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases now rank among the leading causes of death in the country. Together, they account for more than 30 per cent of all annual deaths in Nigeria, and the numbers are still rising," he said .
He also acknowledged the Nigerian government for taking bold steps to confront this challenge with the introduction of the Sugar Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax in 2021 but insists that there is still more work to do.
In an interview with Daily Trust, Humphrey Ukeaja, CAPPA's Industry Monitoring Officer, says the food consumers in Nigeria lack access to adequate nutritional information, putting them at a disadvantage. explaining that many food products are misleadingly labelled as healthy, influencing uninformed consumption.
"We have also noted that most of the products these food industries push out, they label them as healthy, and when they do that, the consumer is just driven to consume what they see as healthy and that's unfortunate. We found out that there's a need to have this data documented just as to use it as a tool to engage policymakers and to push out policies that would drive healthy consumptions," Humphrey said.
He said the organisation has taken a key step in tackling this challenge by gathering this data and the next step is to engage policymakers, the media and the general public with this tool. He noted that the media has a role to play in informing the consumers by gathering and presenting the facts.
"The food industry is driven by profits; its profits over public health. And now we are not changing the narrative that public health should trump profits.
"The SSB Tax is a pro-health tax, and we take on the fact that this tax should also, when increased, be earmarked for control of non-communicable diseases. We have a 30% prevalence rate in non-communicable diseases in Nigeria. Obesity is on the rise; hypertension is on the rise. We have people slumping daily and if this tax is earmarked after an increase to 113 naira, it can now be properly channelled through the Ministry of Health or whatever regulatory agencies to make sure that people are able to assess preventive measures for non-communicable diseases," he added.
...Seeks enforcement of salt regulation
Meanwhile, the organisation has urged the federal government to expedite the regulation of salt targets in processed and packaged foods, warning that failure to act could further strain Nigeria's already burdened healthcare system and adversely impact productivity.
In a statement marking World Salt Awareness Week 2025, CAPPA stressed that unchecked sodium consumption is driving up cases of hypertension, stroke, and heart disease conditions that contribute to workforce absenteeism, rising medical costs, and declining economic output.
The group cited World Health Organisation (WHO)'s findings showing that salt reduction is one of the most cost-effective strategies for improving public health and, by extension, preserving national economic stability.
"The financial cost of treating non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular illnesses, is unsustainable for our healthcare system and a major drag on national productivity," Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA's executive director, said.
CAPPA's statement, signed by Media & Communications Officer Robert Egbe, noted that WHO member states are committed to reducing global salt intake by 30 per cent by the end of 2025.
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However, he noted that Nigeria is lagging behind, with average daily consumption between 7-9 grams, well above the WHO's recommended 5 grams.
He added that according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW), more than 10 per cent of deaths from cardiovascular disease in Nigeria are linked to excess sodium, and that hypertension now affects over 35 per cent of Nigerian adults, reducing productivity and increasing healthcare burdens on both government and private employers.
CAPPA therefore threw its weight behind the recently launched National Guideline for Sodium Reduction and called for stronger institutional support for the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which is working on regulatory enforcement.
The NGO also disclosed how urbanisation, marketing practices, and lifestyle changes are shifting consumption towards ultra-processed, sodium-laden foods. It therefore called for mandatory front-of-pack warning labels and product reformulations to reduce salt content without affecting product quality.
"Clearer labelling and reformulation are not just health issues; they are economic necessities," the statement noted, adding that such measures will help businesses future-proof their products for regulatory compliance and meet growing consumer demand for healthier options.
Recall that World Salt Awareness Week runs from May 12-18, aiming to promote healthier eating habits and reduce salt-related health risks across the globe.
