Nigerians have expressed concern over a weight gain pap for babies being sold by a TikTok user, urging the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to probe the product.
The controversy began after some X.com users raised alarms about the safety of the product, which is marketed as an “organic” solution to help babies gain weight.
In a post on X.com on Monday, popular Nigerian health influencer, Dr. Chinonso Egemba, better known as Aproko Doctor, urged NAFDAC to take immediate action, stating, “Dear #NafdacAgency, I’m guessing this is within your purview. No one knows what is inside that pap. Also, this is setting these babies for damage.”
His post came in response to some X.com users, #JaceTheJace and #Talk2veee, who had raised concerns about the potential harm of the product and shared videos originally posted by the TikTok user #purelyorganicc of babies who allegedly consumed the pap.
One of the videos had the caption, “POV: My customer’s baby while using our baby’s weight gain pap. Now tell me why you haven’t gotten our products yet. Baby is only four months old.”
Another video claimed a one-year-old baby weighed 47 kg. The caption read, “He is currently weighing 47kg. That was last month when I checked, and he is only a year old.”
Sharing the videos, #JaceTheJace wrote, “Can you just imagine this? We need to find a way to stop this person. She took the video off her page; this is the page in question.”
In a separate post on X, #Talk2veee questioned the obsession with “chubby babies” and the potential harm of promoting such products.
“What’s the obsession with chubby babies? Are slim babies unhealthy?” she wrote, sharing a WhatsApp screenshot of a review from a parent who praised the weight gain pap.
The review read, “We are four months. She is doing wonders. People dey gather her; they call her boss baby. Madam, what are you feeding her with? E choke, my baby na celeb everywhere we dey. The joy is heavenly.”
As the conversation gained traction, Nigerians voiced their concerns about the potential harm such products could cause, calling on NAFDAC to address the issue.
“She doesn’t even know what’s inside the so-called pap. I’ve emailed child help and domestic violence organizations, I don’t know who to reach out to again; we need to do something about this rubbish before babies start dying