10/08/2025
Chika was a 38-year-old single mother in Port Harcourt. She prided herself on cooking tasty, home-style meals for her two boys. The aroma of fried stew, sizzling plantain, and spicy goat pepper soup often drew neighbors to her small kitchen.But there was something Chika didn’t know — the shiny non-stick pot she bought at the market two years ago had started peeling. With every meal she cooked, tiny, invisible flakes from the coating mixed into her food. Slowly, the toxic chemicals were entering her body.
At first, she thought her headaches and fatigue were just “stress.” Then came the strange chest tightness and shortness of breath. One evening, she collapsed while stirring her pot of soup. At the hospital, the doctor explained she had a form of chemical poisoning that had been damaging her liver and heart for months.
The culprit? The worn-out, low-quality cookware. Chika’s story spread through the neighborhood, waking people up to a hidden danger they never thought about — unsafe cooking materials and utensils.
Lesson:
Health threats don’t always come from “junk food” or poor diet — sometimes, they hide in the tools we use every day. Using safe, high-quality, and well-maintained kitchenware is just as important as what goes into the pot.
