NAFDAC sounds alarm over smuggled food flooding Nigerian markets

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians about an influx of smuggled food products circulating in markets nationwide.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said items such as pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste, already placed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List—were being illegally imported and sold.

She noted that the products had not been subjected to NAFDAC’s safety checks, posing potential risks to consumers and undermining the country’s food regulation framework.

The agency ordered importers, supermarkets and market traders to immediately halt the importation and sale of the prohibited items, warning that offenders would face seizures, licence suspension and prosecution.

NAFDAC also called for strengthened collaboration with key government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service and Standards Organisation of Nigeria, to clamp down on the distribution of unsafe and unregistered products. The agency reiterated its commitment to protecting public health and enforcing compliance across the food supply chain.