By Sani Idris
The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has raided 10 warehouses in Sabon Gari market in Kano State, where they seized unregistered food products and arrested two people.
The Deputy Director, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of NAFDAC, Kaduna office, Mr. Tamanuwa Andrew, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Kaduna.
He said the raid which they conducted at warehouses located at Sabon Gari market and Unity road, were in line with their regulatory activities and mandate of ensuring a healthy nation.
He said the food products seized were 500 cartons of milk creamer; 3,655 cartons of lolly pop candy, 1,800 cartons of monosodium glutamate, 162 bags of star milk and 300 cartons of chocolate.
He added that they also seized 688 cartons of afri cafe and 219 bags of pre-plain green milk.
Tamanuwa said the Agency was not aware of how the products came into the country.
“Our investigations will reveal the source of the products and their country of manufacture because all of them are imported, not manufactured locally in Nigeria.
“We will send them to the laboratory to ascertain their quality and see if they are safe for consumption,” he said.
The Deputy Director further said that some of the food products may contain harmful substances which cause cancer.
He explained that the reason they did not raid the open market, but concentrated on warehouses where NAFDAC regulated products are stored, was to have a large quantity of seizure.
“One of the strategies to reduce or minimise the menace of substandard, expired and falsified products is by continuous mop up of the products from circulation, which we are not relenting on.
“This will send strong signals to individuals that wherever they store those products, we will get them, not that we will be seizing them in pieces.
“We want to know the kingpins who bring those products in large quantity,” he said.
The Deputy Director said owners of the warehouses have been invited while investigations would continue to a logical conclusion where the law would take its position on them and those that were arrested.
He restated NAFDAC’s commitment in ensuring safe markets where consumers would buy the right and quality assured consumables and other products.
Mr. Kassim Ibrahim, the Kano State Coordinator of NAFDAC who also participated in the raid, said some of the raided warehouses were found to be poor in hygiene.
Speaking via a phone interview, he added that the warehouses were not observing good warehousing practices.
Ibrahim noted that they would embark on awareness campaign on good warehousing practices to owners of warehouses storing NAFDAC regulated products in the state. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
