The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has raided 10 warehouses in Sabon Gari Market in Kano State, where it seized unregistered food products and arrested two people.
The Deputy Director in charge of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of NAFDAC, Kaduna office, Mr. Tamanuwa Andrew, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Kaduna
He said the raid, conducted at ware houses located at Sabon Gari market and Unity road, were in line with the regulatory activities and mandate of ensuring a healthy nation.
He said the food products seized were 500 cartons of milk creamer; 3,655 cartons of lolly pop candy, 1,800 cartons of monosodium glutamate, 162 bags of star milk and 300 cartons of chocolate.
He added that officers seized 688 cartons of afri cafe and 219 bags of pre-plain green milk.
Tamanuwa said the agency was not aware of how the products came into the country, stressing on their large quantity.
“Our investigations will reveal the source of the products and their country of manufacture because all of them are imported, not manufactured locally in Nigeria.
“We will send them to the laboratory to acertain their quality and see if they are safe for consumption,” he said.
The deputy director further said that some of the food products might contain harmful substances which caused cancer.
He explained that the reason they did not raid the open market, but concentrated on ware houses where NAFDAC regulated products were stored, was to have large quantity of seizure.
“One of the strategies we employ to reduce or minimise the menace of substandard, expired and falsified products, is by countinous mop up of the products from circulation, which we are not relenting on.
“This will send signal to individuals that wherever they store those products, we will get them, not that we will be seizing them in pieces.
“We want to know the kingpins who bring those products in large quantity,” he said.
The deputy director said they had invited the owners of the warehouses, and investigations would continue to a logical conclusion where the law would take its position on them and those that were arrested.
He restated their committment in ensuring safe markets where consumers would buy the right and quality assured consumables and other products.
Mr. Kassim Ibrahim, the Kano State Coordinator of NAFDAC, who also participated in the raid, said some of the raided warehouses were found to be poor in hygiene.
Speaking via a phone interview, he added that the warehouses were not observing good warehousing practices.
Ibrahim said they would embark on awareness campaign on good warehousing practices to owners of warehouses storing NAFDAC regulated products in the state. (NAN)
