Damaturu and confiscates counterfeit drug worth Five Hundred and Thirteen (N513, 000) thousand Naira.
The Coordinator calls for cooperation of the general public for any useful information. That would assist the agency, however the suspect are under investigation to trace their main supplier.
National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Taraba state office says the association of Agro-Input dealers has handed over to it fake and substandard agro inputs worth millions of Naira.
The information is contained in a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Mr Abubakar Jimoh, and made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Jimoh stated that the gesture was part of the move to ensure that all distributors, marketers and retailers of agro input in the state got “listed” with the agency to avoid illegal marketers.
It added that it was also geared toward avoiding distribution of substandard and falsified agro input in the state and also to flush out inappropriate use of agrochemicals such as spraying directly on grains and other food substances for preservation.
“The association, in yielding to the request and encouragement of the agency, has handed over fake, substandard and falsified agro inputs, mostly chemicals, worth millions of Naira to members of staff of NAFDAC Taraba State office.
“The event which took place at the secretariat of the union on June 26, saw the secretary of the union, Mr Kwafa Manas, and it chairman, Alhaji Saidu Mohammed, giving out some facts and methods on ways to easily identify falsified agrochemicals,’’ he said.
According to him, among the falsified products handed over are: Glyphosate 522L, Paraquate 131L, 24D 70L, Atrazin Liquid 31L, Butachlor Liquid 33L, Selective for Rice 12L, Atrazin Powder 139 Sachets and Butachlor Powder 411 Sachets.
Others were Insecticides 32L, Selective for Maize 16L, Liquid Fertilizer 42L, Seed Dress 108 Sachets, Maize Seed 5 Sachets respectively.
He said the Taraba coordinator of NAFDAC in the company of other members of staff of the agency thanked the union and encouraged them not to relent in their support to the agency as the benefit was mutual both for the agency and for genuine dealers.
According to him,, the state coordinator frowned at the situation where only 10 per cent of genuine agro input dealers in the state were accredited through mandatory ‘listing’ of all agro inputs dealers.
The coordinator noted that low accreditation of genuine members had made regulation of agro inputs marketers very difficult and appealed to union leaders to extend their collaboration with NAFDAC to get their members listed as soon as possible. (NAN)
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has reiterated its determination to control and monitor food and food items in the country.
The agency’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr Abubakar Jimoh, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said that the agency remained committed to food monitoring, while ensuring that all food items contained the right minerals and fortified with vitamin A.
Jimoh listed food items containing vitamin A to include beverages, margarine, flour, sugar and salt iodisation, stressing that local salt mined in states such as Ebonyi, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa now contained iodine.
He said this was as a result of the intervention of the agency, noting that prior to now, salt mined in those states had no iodine.
According to him, NAFDAC does not only monitor counterfeit drugs, but dedicated to controlling contaminated foods too.
He said that the fight against counterfeit drugs often generated much publicity, stressing that was why people came with the notion that the agency was concentrating more on drugs than food.
Jimoh said that the agency had also embarked on aggressive campaign on hygienic water, particularly packaged water, classified under food.
He noted that “in the past, we talk of water borne diseases, but nobody is talking about cholera epidemic now because of effective regulation of packaged water by NAFDAC.
“These are proactive and preventive work that NAFDAC is doing to safeguard public health.
“When NAFDAC seizes contaminated food, it does not make news like drug.
“We have the Directorate of Food and applled Nutrition Department, which is doing a whole lot of work.”
The director said that in setting standards for food, the agency work closely with appropriate authorities to promote the export of the country’s agriculture products to have value addition. (NAN)
By, Biola Lawal
Management of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) alerted Nigerians of unscrupulous business men selling chemical-treated industrial animal hides and skin for consumption as Ponmo.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye said in an alert statement to the public and made available to Flowerbudnews that consumption of animal skins pretreated with toxic industrial chemicals were injurious to human health.
Prof. Adeyeye said that the “Health hazards inherent in the consumption of such animal hides include risk of Liver, Kidney and Heart damage, increased risk of Aplastic anaemia, Central nervous system toxicity, Cancer, etc”.
She disclosed that “as far back as 2015, following intelligence reports, the Agency, through Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, had been successfully dealing with isolated cases of dangerous diversion of animal hides meant for industrial use into the food chain for consumption aslocal delicacy PONMO. This practice poses grave danger to public health.“
The Full Statement:
The Management of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) wishes to use this medium to ALERT the general public and in particular consumers of animal hides popularly known as PONMO in local parlance on the activities of some unscrupulous business men and traders who are selling industrial animal hides as food article.
As far back as 2015, following intelligence reports, the Agency, through Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, had been successfully dealing with isolated cases of dangerous diversion of animal hides meant for industrial use into the food chain for consumption aslocal delicacy PONMO.This practice poses grave danger to public health.
Investigations revealed that some of the companies legally imported hides from countries such as Lebanon and Turkey, while majority of the product was smuggled into the country through the porous borders.
Theseimported animal hides aremeant for industrial use by leather industries for the manufacture of items such as shoes, bag, belt etc. The hides, therefore,are pretreated with industrial chemicals which are not of food grade and will be toxic and injurious to human health. Health hazards inherent in the consumption of such animal hides include risk of Liver, Kidney and Heart damage, increased risk of Aplastic anaemia, Central nervous system toxicity, Cancer, etc.
Live stock farmers are also to note that industrial animal hides can also not be used to manufacture animal feed, as the associated chemicals will be stored in the tissues of these animals and will eventually end up in humans when consumed with the attendant deleterious effects listed above.
The general public is hereby encouraged to be very vigilant and exercise discretion when purchasing animal hides PONMO and indeed other food items.
NAFDAC is fully alive to her responsibilities of assuring the safety, wholesomeness and quality of processed foods offered for sale to the public. In this regard, the Agency, has increased the tempo of targeted and aggressive routine (unannounced) inspections to monitor activities of animal hide merchants to ensure that only food grade animal hide (PONMO) is sold as food article in our markets. (Flowerbudnews)
The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Bauchi State office, during surveillance activities conducted within Bauchi metropolis sanctioned Agrochemicals marketer for selling expired Agrochemicals and those found to be unregistered.
Also within the Week, at Azare, Katagum LGA; some Patent medicine stores operators were sanctioned for selling Unregistered drugs.
Artificially ripened fruits where Calcium carbide is used is inimical not only to sound and good health, but also dangerous to the consumer by rendering the fruits poisonous due to the hazardous nature of acetylene gas, phosphorus and arsenic that forms when calcium carbide reacts with water.
Sequel to the ripening of fruits and vegetables saga, NAFDAC Borno State, like all other States immediately swung into action by intensifying surveillances, roundtable discussions, enlightenment campaigns with focus on sensitizing all relevant stakeholders on the dangers and ill-effect of possible use of calcium carbide to ripen banana and other fruits and vegetables.
According to the State Coordinator, Mr. Nasiru Mato, this move becomes necessary amidst public speculations and rumors; thus, the need for a well-coordinated and collaborative effort to deal with the situation.
In a move to revert and stop the negative trend of unacceptable destructive artificial possible method of ripening fruits, exclusive intelligence gathering per excellence has boosted the efforts of NAFDAC Borno State Office to unravel a warehouse facility meant for artificial ripening of banana.
NAFDAC alongside personnel from the Department of State Services (DSS) conducted the exercise recently in Maiduguri as part of collaborative efforts to address health concerns. Meanwhile, samples have been drawn for investigative analysis.
According to Mr. Mato, so far concurrently, NAFDAC Borno State Office is relentlessly looking at the issue with greater emphasis on evidence-based and multifaceted approaches and intelligence gathering to get to the root, hence the involvement of all critical stakeholders to mitigate the problem and in assisting to take further necessary regulatory actions.
The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC) in Gombe on Tuesday called
on traditional medical practitioners to register with the Agency to avoid selling unsafe medicine to the public.
Mr Gonzuk Nyor, the State Coordinator of NAFDAC, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe.
Nyor said selling the products without getting them registered is an offence and the agency considered it unsafe for public consumption.
“We are advising them to come with their products so that it can be subjected to Lab investigation to verify it’s safety and to have them registered.
“If you sell products without registration, you are selling fake product because NAFDAC considers it as unsafe.
“Of course there is punishment for that, first we are going to collect the product from you and sanction you as first offender.
“But if you keep doing it, stiffer sanctions will come up and at the end of the day you will be prosecuted,” he said.
According to him, when products are registered, they would be patronized by people all over because it is safe
NAN
