NO BROMATE!
Have you ever wondered why we usually see this boldly printed on most bread nylons?
Well, today… I’m going to tell you why.
You see, bromate… scientifically known as potassium bromate (KBrO₃) is a chemical compound once used in bread-making. Bakers loved using it because it made their dough rise better, the bread softer, and the loaves looked fluffier and more appealing.
But there was a problem. A deadly one.
If bromate isn’t completely broken down during baking, which often happens when bread isn’t baked hot or long enough… it usually remains inside the loaf. And whenever humans consume it, it accumulates. Studies began to show that bromate was carcinogenic. Meaning that it could cause cancer and it could also cause serious damage to the human kidneys.
For years, Nigerians ate bread laced with this silent poison. It was everywhere. Bakeries used it freely because it was cheap and effective until one woman decided that enough was enough.
Her name was Professor Dora Nkem Akunyili, the Director-General of NAFDAC from 2001 to 2008.
When she took office, Nigeria’s food and drug system was like a jungle. Fake drugs, unregulated imports, and dangerous additives flooded the market. Dora wasn’t the kind of woman who looked away. She sent her team into bakeries across the country to collect bread samples quietly.
When the results came back, what they found out was very terrifying: most bread in the market contained dangerous levels of bromate.
That was all she needed to see.
In 2002, NAFDAC under Dora Akunyili officially banned potassium bromate in all bread production across Nigeria. She didn’t stop there, she also went on air, she held press conferences and she called out those bakeries by name. She told Nigerians, “The same bread that makes up part of your children’s breakfast could slowly destroy their health.”
She faced lots of backlash. Bakers fought back. But she stood firm.
Under her leadership, NAFDAC raided bakeries, shut down violators, and educated the public. And slowly, the change began. Bakeries shifted to safer alternatives like ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and the phrase “NO BROMATE” became a proud declaration of safety.
Today, most Nigerians don’t even realize how many lives that single policy saved. Dora Akunyili wasn’t just a regulator, she was a protector. A woman whose integrity and courage forced an entire industry to value life over profit.
So, the next time you unwrap a loaf of bread and see “NO BROMATE” written boldly on the nylon, please pause for a second and remember the woman who made all that possible.
She saved a generation.
