NAFDAC seizes N90m alcoholic beverages in sachets and PET bottles in Lagos.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confiscated about N90 million worth of alcoholic drinks in sachets, small-volume polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and glass bottles below 200 ml in Lagos State.
NAFDAC’s investigation and enforcement team, during a three-day exercise that ended on Saturday, visited about 10 companies and confiscated over 16,127 cartons of the products.
These products contained 30ml, 35ml, 100ml, and 120ml pack sizes with an alcohol volume of 43 percent, compared to the 30 percent for spirits and 18 percent for bitters recommended by NAFDAC.
In January 2022, NAFDAC issued a Federal Government directive to the manufacturers of such alcohol beverages to stop production and sales on January 31, 2024.
Assistant Director, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, NAFDAC, Anthony Abah, who led the enforcement team to Ipaja and Igando, said about 13,948 litres of rum, bitters, and gin worth N50 million were confiscated in the area.
Other areas visited, such as Oshodi, Ikeja, and Ogba, had N40 million items confiscated.
According to Abah, the enforcement is on the ban on the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets, small-volume PET bottles, and glass bottles to phase out the products. He noted that the action is not a total ban on alcohol production in the country.
He said, “We have placed all the violating materials on hold as well as all the quantities of items we found—the packaging materials, labels, and whatever else is relevant to those particular pack sizes. When these small volumes are phased out, access to alcohol will be restricted to anybody below the age of 18 years.”
On the sustainability of the enforcement, Abah said, “We will follow up on adherence to the directive after this enforcement exercise. Violation attracts a stiff penalty, and there is room for prosecution.”
