Using a small bunch of broomsticks, known as ijabe, to mash ewedu (mallow-leaves) is very common among Nigerians when preparing the slimy soup. However, medical experts have said that the age-old practice is actually fraught with dangers. Ewedu is also known as Rama ayoyo among Hausa, while the Igbo call it Kerenkere. Dr. Adegboyega Akere of the Department of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, on Wednesday, advised women and caterers to desist from the practice. Akere, a Consultant Gastroenterologist, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan that food handlers should always use blender for ewedu and every other ingredient used in cooking it. “They should not use broom to mash the vegetable,” he said. Akere said this is because ewedu soup that is mashed with broomsticks could still retain splinters of the broom, however minute. He said that when eaten, the splinters from the broomsticks could get trapped inside the oesophagus or the intestine. Akere ...
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