NAFDAC moves against sales of measured milk, cereals, others in open markets

NAFDAC moves against sales of measured milk, cereals, others in open markets

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it would arrest importers and sellers of unbranded cereals and other food items of industrial sizes in the open markets.

The agency expressed strong disapproval, stating that some manufacturers and their suppliers have been discovered engaging in the importation of approved bulk food items, which subsequently make their way into open markets.

The agency observed that this practice could originate either from the manufacturing plants or their suppliers, posing health hazards to unsuspecting consumers due to the dispensing method in unsanitary conditions.

She said NAFDAC will adopt a more rigorous approach in granting permits for the importation of bulk food raw materials starting from 2024.

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In a statement released by Sayo Akintola, the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, on Sunday, Adeyeye addressed stakeholders during the end-of-year open dialogue and feedback session with food manufacturing companies, where she explained that the influx of these items into the country occurs because companies have sought permission to utilize them in the production of their NAFDAC registered products.

The DG who was represented by the Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN), Mrs. Eva Edwards, said, “We are concerned that we find these items being sold in measures, scoops in the open markets.

“So we are looking at that process of issuing permits for bulk food raw materials very critically”.

She disclosed that the regulatory agency has put in place additional measures for assessing and verifying the utilisation records of each company that applies for import permits to import bulk food raw materials.

‘’We don’t want to just see your stock cards, we want to know what you imported in the previous year.

“We want to know what you used because there are some calculations that we need to make” she noted.

NAFDAC moves against sales of measured milk, cereals, others in open markets