Jude Nzennaya Port Harcourt
In an unprecedented move to rid Rivers State of fake and unwholesome products, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), had stormed Bonny Island in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, shutting down 10 substandard and unregistered bakeries and eight table water factories. This was made known by NAFDAC’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the South South Zone, Cyril Monye in Port Harcourt last week.
Mr. Monye said that a detachment of Policemen from Finima and Bonny Divisional Headquarters provided assistance and security to NAFDAC officials during the three-day operation.
Speaking during the operation, NAFDAC Director, South-South Zone, Pharm. Chukwuma Oligbo said that, “The move became necessary following the agency’s painstaking investigations and surveillance, as well as consumers complaints emanating from the Island concerning substandard bakeries and sachet/table water factories.
“It was discovered that some of the quack bakeries were producing in ramshackle facilities made with woods and rusty congregated iron sheets with inappropriate baking equipment, while the workers were not properly kitted.
“The loaves of bread were stored in a very unhygienic manner with flies perching on them. Some of the bakeries also bear the names of popular breads in Port Harcourt.
“Most of the bakeries were not registered by NAFDAC and are un-registerable because they cannot meet the minimum requirement for registration, while few that were registered by the agency have expired licences or have relocated from their initial place of registration in Port Harcourt to Bonny Island without notifying the agency for formal documentation and mandatory inspections,” Oligbu stated.
Some of the table water factories which were mostly involved in the production of sachet water were not using filtration equipment and a facility that was into production of bottled and jar water was manually filling the jars with a locally improvised machine instead of an automated process, which is the acceptable standard recommended by NAFDAC.
The Zonal Director urged those who are in default of their product license renewal to use the waiver magnanimously provided by the Director General from January to March and renew their licenses, adding that NAFDAC is always ready to guide producers in doing the right thing. He warned that hard times awaits those who intentionally flouts NAFDAC regulations.
The three-day operation took NAFDAC to the length and breadth of Finima and Bonny. Pharmacies and Supermarkets were also inspected where various violations were discovered ranging from unregistered products and unsafe storage of injections.
