I am offended by insulting claims made by Malum Nalu and his scientist for their assertion that sago consumed mainly by Sepik and Gulf people is badly contaminated by excreta and is high in food poisoning bacteria like salmonella.
The majority of people from the two provinces named have eaten sago since they were babies as sago pudding is a nutritious and cheap substitute for baby food and continue throughout their lives to eat sago as a staple diet.
This is the first time I have heard such an outrageous claim that people are dying like flies after eating sago.
What kind of research was conducted to come to the dubious conclusions reached by this scientist and what are his/her credentials in the academic/research world?
Dodgy claims like this are made to grab media attention or done by persons who do not have the talent to pick worthwhile areas of research.
What the scientist and the writer fail to realise is that sago is a versatile crop that sustains life even in the most difficult times like natural disasters.
At a time when it is becoming increasingly obvious that people from other parts of PNG sometimes use the excuse of a flood (excluding major disasters like the Oro situation), hailstorms or other minor disaster to demand rice and tinned fish from the National Disaster and emergency services of the Government, you will hardly ever hear a word of complaint or cry from help from these stoic people.
After all the people can always turn to sago because a little flood or other disaster is not a threat to this hardy, maintenance-free food crop.

Paul T. Kima
Tokarara

Editor’s note: Information for the sago article was sourced from two international academic journals, which appear to provide a factual report on PNG sago. As population pressure increases so does the danger of contamination when proper waste treatment methods are not utilised. Timely warnings such as this can encourage the authorities to assess the situation and to take preventative measures if this was needed.