Expert advises women against use of broom in mashing “Ewedu’” soup

Dr Adegboyega Akere of the Department of Medicine, University College Hospital,(UCH), Ibadan, on Wednesday advised women and caterers to desist from using broom sticks to mash Jute leaves , a local draw-soup called “ewedu’’in Yoruba during preparation.

Akere, a Consultant Gastroenterologist, told our reporter in Ibadan that caterers should always blend “ewedu’’, locust beans and melon together by using the blender

They should not mash the vegetable with the broom, he said.

The consultant said that “ewedu’’ soup mashed with broom sticks would still retain splinters of the broom inside its content, however, minute.

He said that when eaten, the splinters from the broom sticks could get trapped inside the oesophagus or the intestine of the eater.

Our correspondent reports that “Ewedu” is a local draw soup popular among several ethnic groups in the country.

The scientific name for it is “Cochorus Olitorius”, while the English name for it is “Jute leaves”.

The Hausa calls it: “Rama ayoyo”, while the Igbo calls it,“Kerenkere”.

Akere said that a patient consumed the soup containing a tiny piece of broom stick recently at UCH.

“The broom settled in her intestine and did not digest. This resulted in the inflammation of the intestine.

“Two days after, the patient complained of severe stomach pains and a CT-Scan revealed that a broom stick was inside her intestine.

“A surgical operation was carried out and in less than 24 hours, the patient was on her feet moving about.

“This clarion call is necessary because “ewedu” soup is the local soup of people in this part of Nigeria.

“The locals prefer it to any other soup; therefore, I will advise them to either blend or grind it on the stone before cooking,” he said.

Akere also said that when the stomach had strange objects, they could develop into several gastroenterology diseases.

“We have had cases where a patient swallowed a tooth brush, which got stocked in his esophagus and had to be removed surgically.

“Parents and mothers should be careful while preparing this soup as it is the most common among the locals in weaning their babies,” he said.