By Our Correspondent
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned that poorly destroyed, expired or stolen products from food manufacturers are sneaking into the markets through scavengers.
The agency gave the warning in a statement, on Sunday, in Lagos. It said that such practice was unacceptable as it endangered the lives of innocent consumers.
The statement quoted the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, as giving the warning at its Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate stakeholders’ engagement with food sector operators in Lagos.
Adeyeye also warned Nigerians against patronising and consumption of unbranded cereals in the open market.
“If a product doesn’t have a NAFDAC number, we can’t guarantee its safety. And it is not advisable that people should consume such products.
“We cannot speak to the safety of unbranded foods in the open market because we don’t know where they come from, their expiry date cannot be traced,” the D-G said.
According to her, the agency in 2021 and 2022 carried out investigation and enforcement activities on unbranded cereals.
The activities led to the arrest of some people selling online in Onitsha and bringing them to Lagos.
Adeyeye said investigation revealed that people preferred to buy the unbranded product despite inherent dangers in it.
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“We considered the circumstances and the packaging and we couldn’t really understand whether it is cheaper.
“We found out that the smallest packages of cereals were also removed from the packaging materials and also sold in bulk online,” the statement quoted her as saying.
The NAFDAC boss also stated that some industries were also part of the problem through their poor disposal process.
She said people often steal products from companies’ warehouses and sell them to the public.
“We found out that people picked some of the cereals from dump sites in Agbara.
“Our investigations revealed that some companies dispose of some products through Ogun State Waste Management Authority. The disposal methods of companies are also an issue.
“If you want to dispose of some bad or expired products, you are supposed to destroy them through NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.
“It should not be by the company directly through waste disposal authorities. It will always get to scavengers who will sell it back to the market.
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“We also found out that not all the products had expired. Some of them were in company’s packaging materials when diverted to sell at retail prices,” Adeyeye said.
According to her, NAFDAC needed to sensitise the industry against possible compromise.
“If there is a compromise in the industry, it could lead to serious dangers to our health.”
She, however, called for the investigation and prosecution of those who took the products from the dump site for sale.
Adeyeye urged manufacturers of food products to always show concern about their products in the market.
She urged them to establish Post Market Surveillance Units in their respective company.
“Henceforth, companies without post-marketing surveillance or Post Marketing Pharmacovigilance for drug manufacturing companies would be denied their products’ renewal,” Adeyeye warned.
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