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Tag: National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)

  • ‘NAFDAC will continue to safeguard public health’

    ‘NAFDAC will continue to safeguard public health’

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC ) said on Tuesday in Osogbo that it would continue to safeguard public health in the country.

    The South-West Coordinator of the agency, Mrs Ayeduni Adenuga, made the pledge when he received operational vehicle donated to the agency by the Osun Chapter of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (AIPN).

    Adenuga said that the agency would continue to ensure that only safe and quality food, drugs and other regulated products were certified and made available for public consumption.

    She added that only genuine manufacturers of regulated products would be allowed to operate in the south-west region and the country at large.

    She commended members of AIPN for their gesture, saying it would help the agency to improve its monitoring and surveillance activities .

    “This is a corporate social responsibility from your society and it is highly laudable.

    “This vehicle will help to improve our monitoring and surveillance activities to fight against drug counterfeiters and other unscrupulous element who engage in producing unwholesome regulated products.

    “We want to use this opportunity to encourage other stakeholders to emulate this group by supporting and collaborating with government agencies to achieve a better society as government cannot do it alone,” she stated.

    In his remarks, the Acting Chairman of the association, Mr Samuel Olawoye said the bus was donated to the agency as part of the association’s corporate responsibility.

    Olawoye said the association would continue to partner NAFDAC in its critical role and operations in safe guarding the health of the citizenry.

    NAN

  • NAFDAC: Magbojuri resumes duty as Acting DG

    NAFDAC: Magbojuri resumes duty as Acting DG

    Dr Abubakar Jimoh, the spokesperson of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Saturday said Mr Ademola Magbojuri had taken over from Mrs Yetunde Oni as Acting Director General.

    Jimoh disclosed this while reacting to the conflicting reports in the media over the retirement of Oni in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He explained that the immediate past Acting director general reached the retirement age of 60 years on Sept. 21 and Federal Government directed that the most senior director in the the agency take over.

    He said that Magbojuri, who would pilot the affairs of NAFDAC until the new substantive DG is appointed, had received handing over notes on Friday.

    NAN reports that Magbojuri, until this appointment, was in charge of NAFDAC’s training and research institute in Kaduna.

    NAN observed that as at Friday, the NAFDAC head office in Abuja was still sealed by the union that was agitating over none payment of allowances and appointment of either an acting or substantive DG.

    NAN recalls that the NAFDAC’s Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria started an industrial action on Friday Sept. 22, over improved allowances and appointment of the new Director General of the agency.

    The Vice President of the union, Mr Idzi Isua told NAN on Friday that they were around the office to ensure total compliance by the members.

    Isua said that the union was demanding for an allowance known as a specific allowance which other agencies in the same salary structure with NAFDAC were benefitting.

  • FG to launch One-Stop-Shop for MSMEs

    FG to launch One-Stop-Shop for MSMEs

    In fulfillment of its mandate to significantly spur Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises ( MSMEs ) the Federal Government would launch one-stop shops in no fewer than seven states across the country.

    The measure is to facilitate smoother government regulation and interface between entrepreneurs and agencies of government.

    Read also: UNIDO upgrades MSMEs’ financial literacy 

    The Vice President’s Spokesman, Laolu Akande, said in a statement on Monday that already one such one-stop shop for MSMEs in Plateau State was launched in Jos on Aug. 24, and was being housed by the Plateau State Micro-Finance Development Agency (PLASMEDA).

    According to him, the states that are next in line are Abia, Cross River, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Kano, Benue and the FCT.

    He said that the shops were slated to take off between September and October, adding that more of the one-stop shops are expected to be launched in other states before the end of the year.

    The one-stop-shop is aimed at bridging the information gap between micro and small investors and regulatory agencies of government.

    Such agencies include the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and others.

    Akande said that the MSMEs clinics which held in several States already had provided the opportunities for entrepreneurs and local producers in the MSME level to interact with regulatory agencies.

    Read also: ‘Accounting can sustain MSMEs in Nigeria’

    He added that the One-Stop Shop would create an ongoing opportunity in a permanent location to achieve the same purpose.

    The One-Stop Shop programme is part of the on-going Nationwide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Clinics for Viable Enterprises (MSME Clinics) initiated by the Presidency in January 2017.

    The MSMEs Clinics, one of the diversification initiatives of the Buhari administration, was designed to give small businesses the opportunity to interact with the industry regulators in an effort to spur local production and harness the nation’s export potential.

    Read also: Entrepreneurship, Key to ending Youth Unemployment in Nigeria- YPNI

    The agencies to be housed in the One-Stop Shops are the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), CAC, FIRS, SON, NAFDAC, and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

    Others are the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

  • NAFDAC advises exporters to stop embarrassing Nigeria

    NAFDAC advises exporters to stop embarrassing Nigeria

    The National Agency for Food And Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advised Nigerian exporters to stop embarrassing the country by obtaining the agency’s certification of products.

    The Spokesman of NAFDAC, Dr Abubakar Jimoh, gave the advice while fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja on the rejection of about 25 Nigerian produce by the European Union (EU) between 2015 and 2016.

    Jimoh explained that the EU had rejected the 25 exported food products from Nigeria for lack of standard.

    NAN reports that some of the food products on the EU rejection list from Nigeria include beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish and meat, peanut chips and palm oil, among others.

    He therefore urged exporters to subject their products to NAFDAC’s standard and internationally accredited laboratories for proper certification.

    He said that the screening and certification of any product for export by NAFDAC was free of charge in spite of facilities, personnel and chemical reagents being used to conduct such tests.

    “The Federal Government is doing this as a deliberate policy to encourage our exporters and to satisfy international standards for exports.

    “We are now appealing to our exporters not to run away from product certification of NAFDAC, it is free and we don’t charge anything for such service.

    “We have adequate personnel and equipment to carry out such responsibility in the country,’’ Jimoh said.

    The spokesman lamented that the action of exporters has put the country’s image in bad light and also cause a huge loss to the exporters themselves which had implication to the economy of the country.

    According to him, NAFDAC had six functional laboratories that conduct various types of products test across the country.

    He also decried exporters’ penchant for bypassing NAFDAC and smuggling of their products at the detriment of the country’s economy and their income.

    Jimoh said that the agency had two functional laboratories in Lagos, one each in Kaduna, Agolo in Anambra, Maiduguri and Port Hacourt, while the one in Calabar had not been completed.

    He disclosed plans to establish another laboratory in Benue to serve exporters in the North Central part of the country.

    Jimoh, who is also the NAFDAC Director Special Duty, noted that the laboratory in Lagos had been accredited internationally and any product that gets approval from such lab would be recognised globally.

    He confirmed that the EU had certified the laboratory in Lagos and considered it as meeting the world standard.

    He disclosed that Kaduna laboratory was inherited by NAFDAC from the Federal Ministry of Health and later gutted by fire, but that the agency had built a new lab.

    The spokesman added that the Kaduna laboratory was built to serve all agricultural farm produce coming from the north for screening and certification and exportation.

    He added that the laboratory has required facilities and equipment and was now awaiting international accreditation.

    According to him, Agolo, a regional laboratory built by NAFDAC and inaugurated sometime in 2010 by former president Goodluck Jonathan, also has the capacity to serve exporters from the South East region.

    “The EU team that visited our lab in Lagos about a year and half ago were happy with what they met on ground.

    “We have two laboratories in Lagos, the one in Oshodi deals with food products, micro toxic, High Liquid Performance Chromatography and pesticide residues, while the one in Yaba deals mainly on drugs.

    “Laboratory is capital intensive and we cannot have it in every state; therefore those we have now serve states close to them.

    “We have the capacity and we are well prepared to ensure all our exported products from the country get NAFDAC’s clean bill of health as an agency charged with responsibility of quality control,” he said.

    Jimoh also urged the Nigerian Customs Service to continue to cooperate with NAFDAC in ensuring that such products were not smuggled out of the country.

    Meanwhile, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Kano says it will convene a meeting with producers of agricultural products affected by the EU rejection policy to reverse the development.

    The state AFAN Secretary, Alhaji Garba Bichi, told NAN in Kano that the meeting would draw all stakeholders from across the state in order to find a lasting solution to the problem.

    “We have decided to convene a meeting with all those affected by the EU rejection on some agricultural products in order to address the issue.

    “The rejection is as a result of the failure of producers to meet standards due to incorrect application of pesticides and other agrochemical substances.

    “So we feel it is necessary to meet with affected farmers and other stakeholders to find a way out,” Bichi said.

    He assured that even though some of the affected products were not produced in the state, but the association would meet with the affected producers with a view to taking a collective decision on the issue.

    The scribe said the meeting was expected to come up with useful recommendations for immediate implementation and if possible seek technical advices from experts.

    An official of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in the Kano State told NAN on condition of anonymity that the council last year trained some farmers of a particular product, following the development.

    The official, who, works at the Enquiry Desk, said the training which was held in Kaduna, was conducted on melon and ginger where farmers were given technical advices on how to add value to their products and ease acceptability in the international markets.

  • Don’t patronise middlemen for products registration – NAFDAC

    Don’t patronise middlemen for products registration – NAFDAC

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has urged Nigerians not to patronise consultants and middlemen for the registration of their products and other services.

    The new Zonal Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Fori Tatama, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Enugu that the agency has not appointed any intermediary to work on its behalf.

    Tatama said the agency abhorred touts, who claimed to be working for the organisation, warning that such persons, when caught, would face the wrath of the law.

    “We are calling on Nigerians to deal directly with NAFDAC officials within its various state offices to avoid being swindled.

    “The agency does not operate through any consultant, middleman or tout for its services, operations and enforcement.

    “Our officials and members of staff will dutifully and courteously attend to you promptly in our offices,’’ he said.

    Tatama said that the agency had been in the forefront of promoting the Federal Government’s directive on Ease-of-Doing-Business.

    He said that the agency had repositioned itself to encourage new entrepreneurs in food, drugs and cosmetic products in the country.

    “So, the agency and its workers are willing and ready to put new enterprise and business start-ups of NAFDAC regulated products through their registration.

    “We will also give expert advice and co-operate with the entrepreneur to see that the registration process is done without impeding the start-up or growth of new business,’’ he said.

  • EU rejected 24 Nigeria exported products in 2016 – NAFDAC

    EU rejected 24 Nigeria exported products in 2016 – NAFDAC

    The National Agency for Food And Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says European Union (EU) rejected 24 exported food products from Nigeria in 2016 for failing to meet standards.

    The NAFDAC spokesperson, Dr Abubakar Jimoh made the disclosure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    According to Jimoh, the five major products are groundnut, palm oil, sesame seed and beans that were illegally exported to the EU.

    He noted that from the information made available to NAFDAC, groundnut was rejected because it contained aflatoxin, which made the quality substandard.

    “The exported palm oil did not scale through the EU’s test because it also contained a coloring agent that was carcinogenic.

    “Beans was banned by EU sometime ago but it was illegally exported to European countries.

    “Beans was initially banned for one year, when EU was not satisfied with our exported beans in terms of quality assurance, it extended the ban by another two years, which expires next year.

    “NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies of the government are working round the clock to ensure that when the ban is lifted, we can then begin to export more agricultural products to EU,” Jimoh, who is also the NAFDAC Director Special Duties, said.

    He said most of the products that were smuggled out were not certified by the agency and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services at the ports.

  • We’ll encourage local production of narcotics for hospitals’ use  –  NAFDAC

    We’ll encourage local production of narcotics for hospitals’ use  –  NAFDAC

    The Acting Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs. Yetunde Oni, on Friday said  the agency would encourage local production of narcotics to meet the need of the nation’s health sector.

    Narcotics are used as a painkiller during minor and major surgeries by physicians.

    Mrs Oni said that it has been identified that narcotics could be manufactured in Nigeria under close monitoring, adding that works are being done in that direction.

    The Acting – Director made this known to journalists in Ijebu – Ode, Ogun State, at the end of the agency’s Management Retreat with the theme: “Repositioning NAFDAC for Efficient Management and Resource Control for Greater Performance.”

    “NAFDAC does not produce, we encourage companies that can produce. We have identified that Nigeria can manufacture narcotics locally. It is work in progress. We hope in the next few months we will get there.

    “Narcotics is a controlled drugs and we cannot afford to go into large scale manufacturing. It has to be controlled. A certain quantity has to be given to us and we have to give account of how we have used it. It requires a lot of monitoring and surveillance,” she said.

    She also said that the agency needs more laboratories for greater performance amid its increasing volume of task.

    According to her, the existing seven laboratories are not enough for testing products’ samples for registration, product complain samples, enforcement samples and samples that have violated NAFDAC laws.

    “Right now we have seven labs in the whole of Nigeria, just seven labs carrying out all these functions, we are taking samples for registration, we are taking complain samples, taking enforcement samples, we are taking samples that have violated our laws into just these seven labs, covering all the seven classes of products to regulate so we cannot agree less that we need more labs,” she said.

    The Acting Director – General revealed the agency is contemplating building a laboratory in Ogun state because of the increasing number of industries coming to the state to do business.

    She said such laboratory if established would help the agency monitor the quality of products being manufactured in the state, and however, added that the  recent burnt laboratory of the agency in Oshodi – Lagos, did not set them back because it quickly got back-ups and supplies from six other laboratories in other parts of the country.

    “Ogun State is coming up, some of the companies in Lagos have relocated to Ogun State, and to ease the work of NAFDAC, it will not be out of place to have a standalone office in Ogun State and also a lab complement our efforts of ensuring that right quality products are manufactured in Ogun State and reduce the load on the Lagos lab.

    “And for me and I want to reiterate this, NAFDAC should have office in all the States of the federation and we are growing bigger, volume of activities are increasing, if we have a stand alone office in every of the States, nothing stops us from having a stand-alone lab to serve the need of that particular state in terms of products that are regulated by NAFDAC, that we will become more efficient and effective.

    “Our productivity will soar higher and higher, however it is capital intensive to come up with such a lab, it is futuristic, we are talking about 10, 15, 20 years from now,” she said.

     

  • NAFDAC arrests suspects for producing unwholesome bread in Akwa Ibom

    A syndicate of four persons suspected to be specialists in producing unwholesome bread have been arrested by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Akwa Ibom.

    According to Mr Collins Ogedegbe, the Head of NAFDAC in Akwa Ibom, who led the inspection team, the suspects were arrested at Ekpemiong Itak community in Ikono local Government of the state on Wednesday.

    He said the team worked with the Police to expose the syndicate, adding that cases of production of unwholesome bread with pirated products were rampant in the state.

    “Although the prime suspect, simply identified as Emeka is on the run, no fewer than four persons were arrested when the Police stormed the factory at Ekpemiong Itak community,” Ogedegbe said.

    He said NAFDAC officials sealed the facility, carted away hundreds of fake bread, including fake wrappers and labels of other quality bread in the area.

    Ogedegbe said the syndicate had been using wrappers and labels of other quality bread as cover to sell unwholesome bread.

    He said that the agency would stop at nothing to ensure the enforcement of quality control regime on food products in the state.

    He said that investigation had begun to ascertain whether the company’s  operations complied with the regulatory demands of the agency.

    “We are going to check for the company’s name in our documents whether it has been registered; whether it conformed to the regulatory framework or not.

    “Necessary penalties would be slammed on the suspects, If found guilty at the end of investigation,” he said.

    The Divisional Police Officer in-charge of Ikot Ekpene, Mr A.S. Bello, who confirmed the incident, said the suspects would be arraigned in court after investigations.

    He appealed to the civil society to complement the services of the Police in the task of riding the society of fraudsters and criminal elements.

    He said that Nigerians could help the Police in uncovering activities of criminals and suspicious characters in their neighbourhood by volunteering useful information.

     

  • NAFDAC confirms reduction in use of bromate in Nasarawa

    NAFDAC confirms reduction in use of bromate in Nasarawa

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday said that its advocacy had drastically reduced the use of potassium bromate by bakers in Nasarawa State.

    Mr Michael Attah, NAFDAC Coordinator in Nasarawa State, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia that NAFDAC officials paid repeated unscheduled inspection visits to bakeries in the state.

    Attah said that the agency would not relax in its campaign against the use of the banned substances until eradication.

    “For now, we have not heard of any case of bakers using potassium bromate, which affects the kidney, although I cannot say it has been totally eradicated,” he said.

    The NAFDAC coordinator said that aggressive campaigns organised by the agency enlightened bakers on the hazards posed to human lives by the use of the `improver’.

    “In 2015, we called them, enlightened them and appealed to their consciences. In 2016, there was a general investigation carried out by NAFDAC.

    “We have test kits which we use when we visit bakeries unannounced. All that made them to do the right thing.

    “There are other alternatives with which to improve their products; most of them have embraced the alternatives,” he told NAN.

    Attah also said that the agency had opened an outpost in Karu Local Government Area of the state to provide effective service for the huge population.

    “We will ensure that these two offices in the state effectively cover the 13 local government areas.

    “The agency’s officials will pay advocacy visits to traditional rulers across the state to urge them to sensitise the youth to the hazards of peddling illegal drugs.

    “We noted resistance in Keana, Obi and Awe local governments in the southern part of the state.

    “Their boys are uncooperative. We will visit traditional rulers, then youth leaders to speak to them so that we can penetrate effectively,” Attah added.

    He appealed to the state government to support the agency in the area of logistics so that both offices could work effectively to reduce drug abuse.

  • Health ministry certifies Fanta, Sprite safe for consumers

    Health ministry certifies Fanta, Sprite safe for consumers

    The Federal Ministry of Health Friday put the controversy over the status of Fanta and Sprite to rest.

    The ministry declared both brands safe for consumption.

    There had been wide spread fears in the country following  the judgement of a Lagos High Court that  the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) should  order  the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) to issue a mandatory warning that the contents should not be taken with Vitamin C in order to avoid poisoning.

    The ministry waded into the meeting yesterday by calling a meeting with officials of the Department of Food and Drug Services, NAFDAC, and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to address the matter.

    Spokesman for the ministry,Mr. Akinola Boade, said in a statement at the end of the meeting that the findings of the Ministry’s investigation revealed that both Benzoic acid and Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) are ingredients approved by International Food Safety regulators and used in many food and beverage products around the world.

    He said the Benzoic acid content in both drinks remains within the specification set by Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC),the organ established by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) to set internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines relating to foods, food production, and food safety.

    He said: “In the case of Benzoic acid, the standard set by Codex was 600mg/kg until recently reviewed to 250mg/kg and adopted in 2016 (CODEX STAN 192–1995 revised 2015 and 2016).

    “With reference to the Codex standard and other relevant documents, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) as the standard setting body in Nigeria in consultation with technical experts and relevant stakeholders elaborated the standard of benzoic acid in soft drinks to be at 250mg/kg based on the National climatic and storage conditions – this standard has been in existence since 1997 and revised in 2008 (NIS 217:2008).

    “The levels of benzoic acid in Fanta (1 batch) and Sprite (2 batches) presented by the claimant in the court are 188.64mg/kg, 201.06mg/kg and 161.5mg/kg respectively; these levels are in compliance with both the Codex and Nigeria Industrial Standards.”

    The ministry pointed out that “NAFDAC and SON regularly monitor the manufacturing practices of food industries and conduct laboratory analysis to ascertain continuous compliance with required national standards; there was a routine inspection conducted at Nigeria Bottling Company by NAFDAC officers in December 2016 which was satisfactory.”

    On the difference between the standard of Fanta and Sprite in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, it said “each country or region is permitted to adapt a standard/limit based on country-specific scientific evidence such as environmental, storage and distribution conditions; Benzoic acid as a preservative prevents the growth of microorganisms which thrive more at higher climatic temperatures like in Nigeria.

    “Due to the different environmental conditions obtainable in the UK, the standard for benzoic acid was set at a lower limit of 150mg/kg while in Nigeria it was set at 250mg/kg even below that of Codex (as at time of production of that batch; Codex limit was 600mgkg); and Food products being imported into a country must comply with the relevant standards of the destination country.”

    It said the plaintiff in the suit that sparked the controversy “did not obtain NAFDAC certification before export, otherwise, he would have been advised on the required standard of the destination country.”