The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has found that bread sold in supermarkets fails laboratory testing because producers utilise saccharine due to the high cost of sugar. NAFDAC urged water producers, patent medicine dealers, and other manufacturers of regulated products not to sell counterfeit or substandard products.
Mrs Roseline Ajayi, NAFDAC Southwest Coordinator, issued the warning during a stakeholders engagement meeting hosted by the agency on Friday in Ibadan. Ajayi stated that the evidence acquired by the agency during its most recent investigation revealed that some patent medicine dealers were selling restricted pharmaceuticals and unregistered products.
According to her, several producers failed to meet the appropriate packing and storage criteria. “Recently, we discovered that bread sold in marketplaces fails laboratory testing because makers utilise saccharine due to the high cost of sugar.
“They are introducing substances that are detrimental to the health of customers. “We are not unaware of the current economic circumstances, but the agency will not lower its standards. “It is pertinent to note that the quality and safety of regulated products cannot be compromised,” she told reporters.
However, Ajayi stated that the purpose of the engagement gathering was to elicit additional collaboration and support from important stakeholders in order for the agency to execute its duty of protecting residents’ health.
“In the last year, significant regulatory decisions have been taken. “Some have been gazetted, and they are intended to improve and sanitise regulatory practices.
“All stakeholders must embrace the culture and requirements for good practices related to each sector to guarantee quality, safety and wholesomeness of regulated products available to the citizens,” she told the audience.
Also addressing, Mr Moses Adewole, the Oyo State Director of Pharmaceutical Services, asked drug marketers to stick to their area of expertise. Adewole also warned the participants against selling expired pharmaceuticals, saying that doing so was comparable to providing poison to civilians.
Commenting, Mr Oladimeji Shittu, Oyo State Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPMED), encouraged NAFDAC to make stakeholder engagement a routine activity to ensure timely updates on development.
Participants included master bakers, chemical dealers, agro-input dealers, importers, supermarket operators, as well as makers and distributors of regulated items.
