NAFDAC Shut Company For Repacking Expired Tomatoes

In an effort to curb the proliferation of fake goods in the market, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has shut down production in a tomatoes production company, Vital Products Nigeria Ltd, following the discovery that the company has been re-packing expired tomato paste into aluminium foil sachets.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the agency’s Lagos office recently.

According to Dr. Orhii, a total of 2,609 drums x 200kg of expired tomato paste were discovered to have been re-packaged into aluminium foil sachets by the company located at  Plot 22A, Cocoa Industry road, Ikeja, Lagos.

He said: “Expired bulk tomato paste in 200kg drums were relocated from the factory to a warehouse outside the factory where their labels were removed. Small numbers of drums at a time were now moved back to the factory where new labels were affixed carrying date markings to indicate that the products were not expired as they were subsequently re-packed into sachets.

“This led NAFDAC to place the company on hold until investigations are completed on the matter,” he added.

Reinstating the agency’s commitment to safeguarding the lives of citizens, the NAFDAC boss also disclosed that the agency has seized fake pharmaceutical products and other unwholesome products worth over N900m.

The seizures, according to him, were made at Seme border after a raid of companies involved in fraudulent activities by the agency’s surveillance officials who were on patrol of suspected border routes used by syndicates to smuggle in fake products into the country.

Noting that the agency has intensified surveillance effort and activities at the land borders to enable it track down smugglers of fake and harmful regulated products, Dr. Orhii further revealed that the agency intercepted a trailer-load of fake pharmaceutical products made with potassium bromate at the Seme border. The goods were valued at N192.5million.

The use of potassium bromate as bread improver, he said, has been banned worldwide as it was revealed to cause cancer. Hence, ascorbic acid, alpha amylase, azocabanamide were recommended as alternatives.

He added that 466 cartons of counterfeit pharmaceutical products worth N300million and  five trucks loaded with assorted regulated products valued at about N500million were also impounded during the surveillance exercise.

According to the director general, some of the products found in the impounded trucks included Baron Romero, MacDowell Whiskey, Alomo bitters, Vino Tinto, Don Simon, Dettol antiseptic liquid, Becks can beer and milk candy.

He said the owners of the products have come forward for interrogation while investigations were ongoing on the matter.