NAFDAC Raids Fake Wine Factories in Abia: Destroys ₦750m Worth Of Fake Beverages And Consumables

In a significant move aimed at upholding public health and safety, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed hundreds of cartons of adultered wine, soft drinks and other products confiscated at Eziukwu market in Aba, Abia state.

According to the director general of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency destroyed over 1,500 cartons of fake and substandard products while 300 hundred cartons were moved to the NAFDAC warehouse. In a virtual media parley in Abuja, she disclosed that the street value of the destroyed products is over ₦750,000,000.

The Director of the southeast zone of NAFDAC, Martins Iluyomade, confirms that the products were confiscated when the agency raided the open market earlier in the week. 240 shops-turned-factories were uncovered during the raid, and 10 people were arrested at the scene. The confiscated products included soft drinks as well as a wide range of alcoholic beverages, including Schnapp Dry Gin, Smirnoff ice, Seaman Schnapps, Martell, Campari, McDowells, Four Cousins, Carlo Rossi, Black Labels and Henessy. The fake beverages are manufactured by “mixing cheaper sources of sugar and starch besides grapes or fruit, among other harmful chemicals unsuitable for human consumption”, Prof Adeyeye states.

The counterfeiters do not only manufacture drinks dangerous to human health. They also carry out date revalidation for expired products like ketchup, peak milk, powdered milk, yoghurt, coca-cola products, and packaging of substandard products, which are later pushed into the market for unsuspecting members of the public to purchase.

Aside from the fake products and illegal activities, the unsanitary conditions of the ‘factories’ pose a major health challenge. Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, remarks that “the production areas are very filthy, using water from very unhygienic sources, harmful chemicals, saccharin, colouring, dirty recycled bottles, and cloned packaging materials of other brands.”

Martins Iluyomade commented on the implication of this discovery, saying that this is yuletide as such the inhabitants of the area would have bought drinks and other consumables from the open market, not knowing what harm they are being exposed to.

From nausea to dizziness to more serious complications like kidney and liver failure, the adultered products and illegal activities carried out in Eziukwu market deteriorate the health of unsuspecting consumers and members of the general public.

For proper regulatory surveillance and protection of public health, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down the entire market until an undertaking guiding against such disreputable action is sworn by the different shareholders.

This swift and decisive action emphasizes the importance of adherence to established standards and regulations in the production and distribution of consumables. It should serve as a deterrent to all other factories churning out fake, substandard or adultered products. As NAFDAC continues its efforts to combat counterfeit products, it encourages consumers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious products or activities that may compromise public health.

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Confidence Ubani

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