NAFDAC steps up enforcement of ban on sachet alcohol products

NAFDAC DG

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has ordered manufacturers of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET/plastic bottles below 200ml to commence a nationwide recall of the prohibited products as part of its full-scale enforcement of the ban.

The agency also warned that defaulting companies would face stiff regulatory and punitive measures, adding that all recalled products would be inventoried and destroyed under NAFDAC’s supervision, with the manufacturers bearing the cost.

In a statement, the Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, said the directive followed the signing of an Irrevocable Enforcement Undertaking by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), and their member companies.

The ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET/plastic bottles below 200ml took effect on January 1, 2026, following concerns raised in 2018 over the widespread availability and accessibility of high-alcohol-content beverages in small, inexpensive and easily concealed packages.

Adeyeye, however, noted that NAFDAC subsequently commenced phased enforcement beginning with manufacturers and progressing to nationwide mop-up operations targeting markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and distribution centres.

She added that manufacturers whose facilities had been sealed for producing the prohibited alcoholic drinks “must verify the dismantling, permanent disabling or reconfiguration of production lines used for prohibited pack sizes” and meet regulatory requirements before it can be reopened.

She therefore warned that defaulting companies which fail to meet the new standards may face continued closure, including placement on NAFDAC’s Regulatory Watchlist, suspension or revocation of product registrations, investigative charges and other regulatory or legal sanctions.

Amid public insinuations that the policy was selective, NAFDAC DG reiterated that the enforcement is a public health measure aimed particularly at reducing the accessibility of high-alcohol-content products to children and young persons and curbing alcohol- related harm.