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 200ml in Lagos State.
NAFDAC’s investigation and enforcement team, during a three-day exercise which 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 alcohol volume of 43 per cent, against the 30 per cent for spirits and 18 per cent 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 from 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 of production of alcoholic beverages in sachets, small volume PET 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 that 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 sustainability of the enforcement, Abah said: “We will follow up on adherence with the directive after this enforcement exercise. Violation attracts a stiff penalty and there is room for prosecution.”
