14th March, 2024
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Ten bakeries, described as substandard and unregistered as well as eight table water factories have been shut down by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
NAFDAC disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by its Public Relations Officer, South-South Zone, Cyril Monye.
With the shut down, NAFDAC said Rivers State will be ridden of fake and unwholesome products.
According to the Agency, the operation was possible, because security operatives in Finima Town of the Bonny Divisional Headquarters provided assistance during the three-day raid against producers of fake products.
“Most of the bakeries were not registered by NAFDAC and unregisterable because they cannot meet the minimum requirements for registration.
“While few that were registered by the agency have expired licenses or have relocated from their initial place of registration in Port Harcourt to Bonny Island without notifying the agency for formal documentation and mandatory inspections.”
The statement quoted the NAFDAC Director, South-South Zone, Chukwuma Oligbo, as saying that: “The move became necessary following the agency’s painstaking investigations, surveillance and consumers complaints emanating from the Island concerning substandard bakeries and sachet/table water factories.
“It was discovered that some of the quack bakeries were producing in ramshackle facilities made with woods and rusty corrugated iron sheets with inappropriate baking equipment while the workers were not properly kitted.”
“The breads found in the bakeries were stored in a very unhygienic manner.
“Some of those bakeries also cloned the names of popular breads brands in Port Harcourt.
“The table water factories produce sachet water without using filtration equipment and a facility.
“Bottled water was produced using jars to fill the bottles manually with a locally improvised machine instead of an automated process.”