NAFDAC destroys 135 truckloads of counterfeit, expired products worth N16b

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it has destroyed 135 truckloads of counterfeit and expired products valued at about N16 billion.

Its Inspection and Enforcement Directorate also carried out raids in the southeast and south south, across nine states, during which counterfeit Diageo products worth over N38 million were recovered.

Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed this during a media parley, said the directorate has been busy with joint inspections, seizures and destruction of banned or unregistered products.

She said in Lagos State and Abuja, several places were raided and counterfeited products worth over N200 million were seized.

Adeyeye noted that the World Health Organisation’s GBT audit team visited NAFDAC to monitor three processes: Regulatory Inspection, Market Authorisation and Laboratory Testing. She said the agency achieved a successful WHO GMP inspection and has since rolled out a roadmap for the attainment of Maturity Level 4 by next year.

She said to ensure global access to pharmaceutical and other regulated medical products, NAFDAC arranged a meeting of manufacturers with UNICEF in October, 2023, which was successful and would open doors in the future for global access.

She also noted that NAFDAC is putting in place processes that would result in lifting of ban on food exports such as beans, saying the agency’s efforts include visiting UK counterparts (UK Veterinary and UK Food Safety Agency); working with sister agencies; and strengthening processes.

She added that the Veterinary Medicines and Allied Products Directorate recently commenced the ban and phase-out of some pesticides. She said pesticides to be banned include: Paraquat by January 1, 2024, Chlorpyrifos, November 1, 2024 and Atrazine, January 1, 2025.