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By Dorcas Elusogbon

A dietician, Dr Salami Akorede, has called on NAFDAC to regulate the mode of processing cow hide into “ponmo’’ for human consumption.

Akorede is the Director, Dietetics Department at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Ile-Ife on Saturday that the popular mode of burning cow hide on naked fire to produce “ponmo’’ was deleterious to health.

He stressed that the process of burning cow hide on naked fire made the product to become potential source of cancer when consumed regularly.

“Where it is well processed, `ponmo’ is a good source of protein, water, energy and micronutrients which contain fibre that aid digestion.

“In producing `ponmo’, processors should regulate the exposure of the cow hide to naked fire so as to minimise the formation of nitrates on them.

“ `Ponmo’ can also serve as alternative to meat as it is cheap and affordable.’’ Dr Akorede said.

The dietician urged consumers to ensure they took `ponmo’ alongside other protein-rich sources like meat, fish, crayfish and soya balls to complement their protein supply.

He charged the Federal Government to reduce taxes on fish and chicken so as to make them affordable as source of protein.

“More people should be encouraged to take to animal husbandry to reduce the in-take of `ponmo’, however,’’ Akorede said. (NAN)

Flowerbudnews

By By Biola Lawal

Abuja”: 20th June, 2023 (Flowerbudnews): Operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NÀFDAC) recently recorded a major success in the Agency’s efforts to keep Nigerians safe from the menace of harmful drugs.

They investigated, raided and confiscated herbal drugs from Baban Aisha drug factory, raising hope that there was no sacred cows in the fight against fake and unwholesome medical products.

Following the success, the NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye addressed newsmen to further drive home to Nigerians the resolve of her Agency to win the battle against fake and adulterated medicines .

We reproduce below her address for records:

PRESS conference by THE Director-General (NAFDAC) PROFESSOR MOJISOLA CHRISTIANAH ADEYEYE ON THE ARREST OF ALHAJI SALISU SANI ‘AKA’ BABAN AISHA A HERBAL MEDICINE PRACTITIONER FOR MANUFACTURING HERBAL MEDICINE WITH EXPIRED REGISTRATION LICENCE AND ILLEGAL ADVERTISEMENT AND SALE OF SACRA HERBS ORAL LIQUID

Protocols:
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this Press briefing on the activities of NAFDAC.
As you are all aware, NAFDAC was established by Act Cap N1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2014 to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devises, bottled water, detergent, and chemicals (referred to as regulated products).

The Agency recently received reports and concerns on Sacra Herbs oral liquid, popularly called Baban Aisha following investigative report released by Premium Times Journalists.

In 2018 the Agency received an application from Sacra Multi-Links Ltd, Layin Alhaji Hamza Mai Bread, Tafa Kagarko LGA, Kaduna State for the registration of its product Sacra Herbs oral liquid.

Following regulatory protocols, the Agency granted listing approval with NAFDAC registration number A7-2590L for the Sacra Herbs oral liquid for the purpose of management of pile and associated pains.

The notification of the registration of the product was granted on the 6th September, 2018 valid till 12th September, 2019.

The company on the 12th August, 2020 applied for renewal of its licence. Following regulatory audit of the company’s production facility, compliance directives were issued to them for non-conformers observed in the facility for which the company was expected to correct.

The company, however, did not correct the lapses observed, following which the product registration licence was not renewed.

The agency also did not receive any application for advertisement of the Sacra herb to warrant the illegal advertisement of the herbal preparation.

It is worthy of note that the Sacra herb which licence expired in 2019 was approved for the management of pile and associated pains, while the company went beyond bound prescribing the medicines for unfounded indications such as for the treatment of Waist pains, Typhoid, Ulcer, Pile, Toilet infection etc.

Following the viral social media outburst on the nefarious activities of Sacra Multi Links, the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of NAFDAC carried out surveillance followed by enforcement action leading to the sealing of the factory and the arrest of two staff of the company who were complicit in the criminal act.

The following day the Managing Director of Sacra Multi Links, Alh. Salisu Sani reported to I&E office in Kaduna and when his vehicle was searched, the following herbal drugs were evacuated from the vehicle: Sacra Herbs oral liquid and two additional unregistered herbal preparations namely Baban Aisha Man Power & Delay and Cure Powder Kai Kadai Gayya.

All the products found with the managing Director and those found in the company were sent to NAFDAC laboratory for analysis.

The following were found and evacuated from the company’s manufacturing outlets:
Empty Pet bottles – 109bags x 400pcs x 120ml
Empty Pet bottles – 87pcs
Unlabelled brown liquid – 4 bottles x 60ml
Potash – 3kg
Alum – 1.5kg
Weighing Balance – 1pcs
Kettles – 4pcs
Work Master Heat Gun – 2pcs
HD Injection Polyethylene – 2 x 25kg
HDPE Polyethylene – 1x 25kg
New Labels of Sacra Herbs – 1 sack x 2, 500 pcs

We have commenced a nationwide mop-up of the Sacra Herbs in circulation. We have also intensified crack down on all illegal manufacturers and distributors of herbal preparation and other unregistered preparations, with a view to bring perpetrators to book and minimize the usage of the substance.

It will also not be out of place to put on record some other related enforcement actions carried out recently as it relates to illegal manufacture, importation, advertisement, and sale of unregistered herbal drugs.

The Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of the Agency recently clamped down on some distributors of some herbal medicines- Hajia Ayisha Special Snuff AK 47. This was a result of intelligence report received by NAFDAC that these herbal medicines are mainly in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Findings revealed that the herbal snuff were manufactured in Ghana and was approved for use as an analgesic by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of Ghana. But is being wrongly packaged and passed-off as a snuff for the Nigerian market.

Investigation further revealed an alarming trend in the use of these poisonous preparations by wide section sof the populace, cutting across all genders and age groups, including young boys and girls, men and married women, drivers and artisans.

The snuff, popularly called “SHAKE” or “ANGORO” herbal powder comes under different street names, such as: AK 47, Moringa, Black coffee (Dan Kano), Magic powder, Lufthansa, Desert Warrior, etc.

Some of the products mopped up from circulation during raid by NAFDAC included the following: Hajia Ayisha special snuff AK 47, Hajia Ayisha snuff AK 47, Hajia Ayisha Masanda original powerful powder, Hajia Ayisha snuff Nasrullah snuff No. 1, Hajia Salma Special snuff, Lufthansa Man power snuff, 99 Bullet more power snuff, AK 47 Power snuff, Hajia Salma VIP Moringa, Forever Journey, Dr Lambo Moringa snuff, Danmilla Kokoo herbal powder, The Desert Warrior, Hajia Salma sundu.

The products are abused for various reasons, including, to create pleasure, to get into ecstacy, increased libido etc.

NAFDAC – National Agency for Food & Drug Administration & Control

The chemical substance in these deadly products of abuse is pyridine which belongs a class of toxic alkaloids found in some plants of the Nicotiana species, which include the tobacco plant.

It can be highly addictive, and it is associated with a range of serious health consequences, including increased risk of cancer, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

I would like to appeal to all, particularly the vulnerable group to desist from the use of this dangerous herbal preparation. Be assured that NAFDAC is doing everything to ensure that only safe and efficacious medicine, wholesome food, and quality regulated products are sold and used by Nigerians.

The successful investigation on Sacra herbs (Baban Aisha), Hajiya Aisha special snuff AK 47 and other herbal medicines goes to drive home the fact that eradication of fake and counterfeit drugs, adulterated and unwholesome processed foods and other regulated products is a holistic battle which should involve every well-meaning Nigerian.

I want to assure Nigerians that NAFDAC is doing everything to ensure that only safe medicine and wholesome food of the right quality are sold to our citizenry.

I would also like to use this opportunity to solicit for the support of health practitioners, community leaders, religious leaders, the press, and all stakeholders to continue to educate their wards and family members to desist from patronizing quacks and hawkers of medicines on the street.

Let me also use the medium to thank the gentlemen and ladies of the press and civil societies for their support to NAFDAC in this regard.

We further advise consumers of NAFDAC regulated products to be watchful of drug, food, and other regulated products they purchase and should not hesitate to report any suspicious activities within their environment to the nearest NAFDAC office.

Thank you for your cooperation with NAFDAC as we continue to safeguard the health of the nation.

NAFDAC… SAFEGUARDING THE HEALTH OF THE NATION
Thank you.

Professor Christianah Mojisola Adeyeye FAS
Director-General (NAFDAC)

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)

says it has started a nationwide mop-up of unregistered herbal medicines.

The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.

She said that the action followed a recent discovery of sale of uncertified, unregistered herbal medicines

by Dr Salisu Sani Nawagini, popularky knwon as Baban Aisha, and others.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agency had on Wednesday, June 14, raided and sealed

the production factory of Baban Aisha at Tarf, on Abuja-Kaduna road.

NAN also reports that during the raid, a lot of items, including production equipment and raw materials were

seized at the production factory of Baban Aisha by NAFDAC, where a woman who stood in for him (Baban Aisha) was arrested.

Adeyeye, therefore, said the agency’s nationwide crackdown is on herbal medicines, especially those not registered with NAFDAC.

She said that Baban Aisha had in 2018 received an application from Sacra Multi-Links Ltd for the registration of Sacra

Herb oral liquid for the treatment of pile and associated pains.

The NAFDAC boss said that the registration approval for the product expired on Sept. 12, 2019, which made Baban Aisha

to apply for renewal on Aug. 12, 2020 following regulatory audit of the company’s production facility.

She added that after this, compliance directives were issued to the company for non conformers observed in the facility

as at the time of visit for which the company was expected to correct.

Adeyeye said that the company however did not correct the lapses observed, Sacra Herb registration licence was not renewed,

the agency did not also receive any application for advertisement of the medicine.

She said that instead renewal of registration of the product, the company went beyond bound prescription for the medicine

to convince Nigerians that it can also treat waist pains, typhoid, ulcer, toilet infection and others.

The director-general said that social media outburst on the nefarious activities of Sacra Multi Links prompted the

investigation and enforcement directorate of the agency to carry out surveillance and enforcement action which led

to sealing of the factory.

She appealed to Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable group, to desist from the use of dangerous herbal preparations.

She reiterated NAFDAC’s determination to ensure that only safe and efficacious medicines, wholesome foods and

quality regulated products are sold and used by Nigerians.

Adeyeye solicited the support of health practitioners, community and religious leaders, the press and other

stakeholder to continue to educate their wards and family members to desist from patronising quacks and

hawkers of medicine on the streets.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, on Thursday in Lagos made public its findings on the investigation into the presence of ethylene oxide or its metabolite in noodles and their seasonings, saying all noodles in Nigeria are safe.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Christianah Adeyeye who briefed journalists in Lagos said ethylene oxide or its derivative was not found in any of the instant noodles produced in Nigeria and their seasonings.

“The level of Mycotoxin and the heavy metals were within the internationally acceptable limit. Therefore, the noodles made in Nigeria are very safe to eat. “

NAFDAC investigation was occasioned by the recalls of Indomie Instant Noodles ‘Special Chicken Flavour’ by the Ministries of Health in Malaysia and Taiwan on account of the alleged presence of ethylene oxide, a compound associated with an increased risk of cancer.

Adeyeye said:  “Samples of chicken flavoured instant noodles of various brands and the seasonings were drawn from the production facilities across the country.

“This was to ensure that the investigation was robust, covering other instant noodles brands manufactured in Nigeria, besides Indomie, the implicated brand.

“The Post Marketing Surveillance Division also visited markets/retail outlets in the major cities of Lagos, Abuja, and Kano and drew samples of instant noodles for laboratory analysis.

“The market visits served as surveillance for the presence of the Taiwan and Malaysian special chicken noodles in the Nigerian market.

The samples drawn from production facilities and trade were properly packaged and delivered in good condition to our Central Laboratory, Oshodi, Lagos, where analytical activities commenced immediately in accordance with international standards and methods of analysis.”

Adeyeye said NAFDAC deployed the technique using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry detector and a total of 114 samples of instant noodles and the seasonings were received.

She explained that the compound of interest, ethylene oxide, is a colourless, odourless gas that is used to sterilise medical devices and has been implicated as a cancer-causing chemical.

She said: “We did not only analyze for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-chloroethanol in the noodles and seasonings; we also analyzed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples.”

On the delay in the analytical activities in the laboratory’ she said it was not deliberate as they had to place orders for the procurement and supply of certified reference materials (standards), reagents and chemicals from overseas

.

President Bola Tinubu has exempted the Boards of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA as well as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC from his order dissolving boards of federal government parastatals, agencies and institutions.Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Senator George Akume disclosed this in a statement issued Tuesday night in Abuja.

“Further to the directive on the dissolution of Boards of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions and Government-owned Companies, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has clarified that the Boards of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC) are exempted from such dissolution”, Akume said

Tinubu had on Monday night dissolved the Governing Boards of all Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions, and Government-Owned Companies

said the action was in exercise of the president’s “Constitutional Powers and in the Public interest”.

He said the dissolution does not, however, affect Boards, Commissions and Councils listed in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has alerted Nigerians to a batch of unwholesome Sprite 50cl glass bottles circulating in Nigeria.

NAFDAC said the product was discovered following a consumer complaint received and investigated by the post-marketing surveillance unit of the agency.

The agency said the investigation revealed that over five crates of the implicated batch of Sprite 50cl glass bottles were discovered to be contaminated with particles.

“The affected batch of the unwholesome product has been sampled for laboratory analysis in the NAFDAC laboratory and the Agency has directed all zonal directors and state coordinators to carry out surveillance and mop up the implicated batch of the unwholesome produ

ct.

Similarly, a comprehensive current Good Manufacturing Practice Inspection of the manufacturing site is to be carried out by the Agency, this is to find the route cause of the contamination and ensure compliance to marketing authorisation.

It added that the product was manufactured on April 4, 2023.

“NAFDAC implores distributors, retailers, and consumers to exercise caution and vigilance to avoid the consumption, sale, or distribution of the unwholesome product. The products’ authenticity and physical condition should be carefully checked.

“Anyone in possession of the above-mentioned batch of Sprite 50cl glass bottles is advised to submit stock to the nearest NAFDAC office. If you, or someone you know, have consumed this product or suffered any adverse reaction/event after consumption, you are advised to seek immediate medical advice from a qualified healthcare professional,” it added.

Flowerbudnews

Abuja:  The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, on Monday dismissed a social media video that claimed semovita contains plastic materials.

In press statement, the Agency said a scientific analysis of the semovita content revealed that it does not contain plastic materials.

According to the statement signed by the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Christinah Adeyeye, the attention of NAFDAC has been drawn to a social media video showing a woman washing Golden Penny Semovita in a sieve using cold water. The woman claimed that the residue she got after sieving was plastic.

“A similar video was shown in 2020 and that led to a Press Release similar to this. Upon receiving the alerts from various quarters in the community in 2020, the Director General immediately gave a directive to conduct emergency post-marketing analysis using different brands of Semolina.”

Continuing, Adeyeye said the Agency investigated the claim by conducting appropriate analytical testing in her internationally accredited laboratories.

“The results showed that there were no plastic or any similar harmful contaminants in Golden Penny Semovita.

“It contained the expected components plus the required Vitamin A. NAFDAC, therefore, wishes to inform the general public that the claim in the social media video assertions is misleading.

“The alleged Golden Penny Semovita is a brand of semolina, a very popular flour made from wheat and consumed in several parts of the world. Semolina contains mainly water, carbohydrates and about 13 per cent of gluten-forming proteins.

“Gluten is made up of two classes of proteins – glutenin and gliadin, which upon addition of water combine to form gluten, a protein that gives nutritive value and imparts other characteristic properties to the product. Glutenin normally gives a bread dough the ability to rise during baking while gliadin gives it the viscous and elastic (viscoelastic) properties, or it simply makes it extensible and elastic.

This latter property is the rubbery/plastic-like appearance that was exhibited in the said video. Semolina has no plastic content in it; it only exhibits viscous and elastic properties. The rubbery-like material that was observed in the video after many washing with water is the gluten that formed after the gluten-forming proteins get mixed with water.

Golden Penny Semovita is manufactured by Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc., a registered company which has been granted marketing authorization by NAFDAC to manufacture the product and offer it for sale in Nigeria.

The company’s operations were certified by NAFDAC after meeting the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).

NAFDAC boss reassured Nigerians that the Golden Penny Semovita and all other semolina products registered by the Agency were safe for human consumption having been so approved by the Agency, following science-driven regulatory diligence.

“There is no cause for apprehension by consumers as such approved products are manufactured in line with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and in compliance with the Nigerian Industrial Standards, which is continuously monitored by NAFDAC,” she added.

She urged Nigerians to exercise discretion in the use of social media to address any suspicion they may have on regulated products as resorting to social media has the tendency to cause fear and panic. (Flowerbudnews)

Flowerbudnews

By Biola Lawal

Abuja: (Flowerbudnews): The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has Intensified efforts to help boost Nigeria’s non-oil export trade and eliminate rejection of the nation’s food products exports.

Speaking at a consultative meeting with Pre-shipment Inspection Agents on Friday, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye expressed the Agencys discomfort with the alarming rate of rejections of food exports from Nigeria.

Prof Adeyeye emphasised the need for a unified exportation procedure in collaboration with Pre-Shipment Inspection Agents to revamp the non-oil Sector trade and end rejection of Nigeria’s food exports in foreign countries.

A statement by Sayo Akintola, NAFDAC’s  Residentn  Media Consultant said that the Consultative meeting was in continuation of NAFDAC efforts to find lasting solutions to the problem of Nigeria non-oil export rejects abroad.

The statement disclosed that NAFFAC used the forum to further extended hands of collaboration to critical stakeholders in the nations ports with a view to working together to revamp the export trade in the non-oil sector, and reduce the rejection of Nigerian products thereby positioning the country in a better state in the Global market.

NAFDAC Boss, Prof. Adeyeye also expressed the Agencys discomfort with the alarming rate of rejections of food exports from Nigeria.

She was represented at the Consultative meeting by  Dr Abimbola Adegboye, the Director, Port Inspection Directorate (PID who also heads Office of Trade and International Relations (OTIR),

Prof Adeyeye pointed out that the meeting was aimed at building effective collaboration with NAFDAC to complement its robust regulatory policies geared toward understanding the NAFDAC export processes.

She said collaboration was also to safeguard a unified exportation procedure and zero rejects of Nigeria export products.

The NAFDAC Boss expressed dismay that a competent authority on food safety matter with all her acclaimed global accreditation in food safety testing could be totally blanked out in the listed requirements for issuance of Clean Certificate of Inspection (CCI) by the Pre-shipment Inspection Agents.

”No wonder there are high volumes of reject from Nigeria as the NAFDAC regulated products were not tested nor production processes validated for compliance before export”,she noted.

Present at the meeting were the top management staff of Neroli Technologies Limited, the agent covering South-south and South-west zone; Anglia International Services Limited, the agent covering North-West and North-Central zone and Gojopal Nigeria Limited, the PIA covering North-East and South-East zone.

They all made commitments to immediate rectification of this lapse on their website and their process and enlightening their client to use the Nigeria Single Window for Trade portal (www.swt.gov.ng)to procure their exports certification.

NAFDAC as a Governmental Agency was established by Enabling Act Cap N1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 which empowers the Agency as the competent authority in Nigeria and charged with the responsibility of regulating and controlling the quality of manufactured, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and consumption of food, drug, chemicals, and other regulated products.

Essentially, the NAFDAC mandate is to ensure traded products are of good quality, safe and wholesome.

The Port Inspection Directorate of the Agency has met with the Chairman of Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) and Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme NESS, Area Comptroller of Nigeria Customs Services at the Ports, advocacy visits were made to export sheds at seaports, airports, and land boarders.

She however, expressed her appreciation of the activities of PIAs as a main actor in the processes chain of exportation adding that coming together of the critical stakeholders will help make the trade of non-oil sector to be better, more robust and more consultative.

NAFDACs door is opened to enhance export and trade, we encourage and support trade of quality products, she said, adding that ”we are enjoining the PIAs to be part of the game and to make sure we collaborate effectively.”

The NAFDAC boss noted that the Agency acknowledges the importance of having broader and deeper Interactions and collaborations with sister agencies such as Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) etc.

Prof Adeyeye emphasized the position of export as a major aspect of building every country’s economy because of its importance in international trade and economic stability, therefore the reason for regulation of the sector is to ensure that products that leave a countrys shores are of good quality, safe and meet international best practices among others.

For Nigeria, she said trade is critical to the national economic makeup, adding that in 2021, Nigeria exported $57.7 billion of goods, making it the world’s 52nd most exporting country.

Prof. Adeyeye disclosed that Cocoa beans, sesame seeds, cashew and seven other products top the list of agricultural commodities Nigeria exported within the first nine (9) months of 2022, generating N427.6 billion or $1.02billion.

The DG reiterated that huge volume of Nigerias exported agricultural commodities were often rejected by the European Union for not meeting required standards, adding that EU countries seized about 82% of Nigeria’s agricultural products exported illegally.

According to her, these products are non-documented items and people move them out without clearance by the relevant regulatory agency.

The DG NAFDAC listed the following as reasons for export rejects: Technical Barrier issues e.g., defective packaging and inadequate labelling. Non-Documentation, Unauthorised transition,

Illegal importation, Non-compliance to destination markets standards, the EU will reject consignments containing food that do not comply with EU maximum residue limits (MRLs) for Vet Medicine and Pesticides, and maximum limits (MLs) for Contaminants in foods.

Others include exporters boycott of relevant regulatory Agency e.g., NAFDAC, in the process of exportation, which leads to rejects, private huge losses and absence of government-to-government communications.

Prof. Adeyeye however maintained that tightening the regulatory and inspection regime for exports of food items and agricultural products is one of the ways to address export rejections, adding that all relevant Government Agencies and associations involved in Nigerian exports should ensure agro products exported are safe, of good quality and meet the specified International Standards.

When all other relevant efforts are merged, we can achieve the reduction of reject on Nigerian export food commodities and increase foreign exchange earnings, she said. (Flowerbudnews)