NAFDAC totally bans sale of alcoholic beverages in satchel

NAFDAC totally bans sale of alcoholic beverages in satchel

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Monday placed a total ban on alcoholic beverages produced in sachets less than 200ml.
The agency said the five-year window given to the manufacturers of the products to stop producing the drinks in sachets and pet bottles which began in 2018 elapsed on January 31, 2024.
It said enforcement of the ban commenced on February 1, 2024.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, announced the ban in Abuja.
She spoke at a media briefing, saying the ban was not a sudden development but a result of a multilateral Committee that agreed that the ban would be in phases whereby production would be reduced by 50 percent by 2020 while outright ban would be on January 31, 2024.

Given that decision, the DG said NAFDAC did not issue renewal licenses exceeding January 2024 to any manufacturer of the products.

She explained that the agency took the route of wiping out the drinks in such sachets because of the negative effects on underage children.

She said because the drinks came in pocket-friendly sizes, accessible and affordable, children easily fell for the packages only to face the consequences in the future.
She said, “This decision was based on the recommendation of a high-powered committee of the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC on one hand, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and the Industry represented by the Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), in December 2018.
“As a commitment to the decision reached at the end of this committee meeting, producers of alcohol in sachets and small volume agreed to reduce the production by five percent with effect from 31st January 2022 while ensuring the product is completely phased out in the country by 31st January 2024.”