Consumer Safety: NAFDAC warns Nigerians against unbranded cereals  in open markets

*Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, stresses if a product is not certified by the health regulatory agency, it is not advisable that people should consume it

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As part of its consumer education and public sensitisation initiatives, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has cautioned Nigerians against patronising consuming unbranded cereals purchased from the open market.

ConsumerConnect reports the health regulatory agency warned consuming such a produce from the open market could endanger the lives of innocent consumers, particularly, children.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, stated this at the Agency’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate Stakeholder’s Engagement with food sector operators in Lagos.

Adeyeye said in a statement: “When a product is not certified by NAFDAC it is not advisable that anybody should consume it.

“The unbranded products in the market, do not have NAFDAC registration/marketing authorisation number.”

The Director-General of the agency warned food manufacturing companies that it would no longer accept poorly destroyed expired or stolen products sneaking into the market through scavengers at the waste dump site to endanger the lives of innocent consumers, particularly, Nigerian children.

Adeyeye also explained that all the products that had gone through the regulatory processes were packaged with NAFDAC registration numbers on them in the country.

She further stated: “We cannot speak to the safety of unbranded food in the open market. We do not know where they have come from.

“We don’t know anything about the expiry date. We cannot trace.”

The agency as well noted that in 2021 and 2022, NAFDAC carried out lots of investigation and enforcement activities on unbranded cereals.

It recalled the efforts led to the arrest of some product dealers selling online in Onitsha, in Anambra State, and brought them to Lagos.

According to Adeyeye, some industries were also complicit in this market infraction.

She disclosed “we found out that some of the cereals were picked up from dump sites in Agbara.

“If you want to dispose of some bad or expired products, you are supposed to destroy it by NAFDAC Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, not by the company directly through waste disposal authorities.”

Adeyeye stated: “It will always get to scavengers who will sell it back to the market.”

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