Coco Samba makers petition NAFDAC, seek clarification over reports of falsified product

Bullion Go-Neat Global Limited, the manufacturer of Coco Samba Milk and Chocolate Flavored With Herbal Extract, has challenged NAFDAC’s claims of a falsified version of the product being intercepted in Germany.

The company, through its CEO Olufemi Ajadi, in a statement sent to The Guardian, demanded clarity and evidence from NAFDAC. They questioned the agency’s credibility and urged them to expose those responsible for counterfeiting the product, show laboratory reports or samples to substantiate the claim of a falsified product, and to acknowledge the correct registration number for Coco Samba Milk and Chocolate Flavored with Herbal Extract.

According to NAFDAC, investigations revealed that the product with “A4-9149” is falsified and different from that obtained from the NAFDAC database “A8-4418L” for the genuine product.

Ajadi, in the statement made available to The Guardian, however, noted that the company has stopped producing the product with registration number A8-4418L.

Ajadi said: “It is imperative to clarify that prior to the registration of Coco Samba Milk and Chocolate Flavored with Herbal Extract, our company produced Cocosamba Bitters Alcoholic drinks with NAFDAC No A8-4418L. However, due to low market demand, the production of Coco Samba Bitters Alcoholic Drink was discontinued, and it has not been in production since the expiry date of the licence.”

Ajadi added that the genuine registration number for Coco Samba Milk and Chocolate Flavored with Herbal Extract is A8-9149 and not A8-4418L as reported by NAFDAC.

The CEO urged NAFDAC to do its job well by informing the public properly. He noted that it was unacceptable that the agency that registered and certified Coco Samba Milk and Chocolate Flavored with Herbal Extract could not provide proper information to the public.

Ajadi also added that he was surprised and shocked when he read that Coco Samba was intercepted in Germany for not being good for consumption.

He noted that till date NAFDAC is yet to reach out to Bullion Go-Neat or submit any laboratory report to back up the circulated report.

He said: “Nobody served us any letter or notice concerning the alleged interception of our product in Germany. We approached several departments in NAFDAC and we were told there were no such complaints about our product anywhere. So, how did the report get to their website?

Ajadi also raised concerns about potential internal corruption within NAFDAC, suggesting someone might be trying to tarnish the company’s image. He called for an internal investigation within the agency.

He said: “We expect that by now, NAFDAC should bring evidence or samples of the said product that they reported were not safe for human consumption. No complaints from our consumers in Nigeria about our product and no sample from NAFDAC as well. So, I am calling on NAFDAC to produce evidence from Germany where they claimed it happened. I am still in shock over all this. At one point, I began to feel maybe some criminals within NAFDAC are being paid to tarnish our image. NAFDAC really need to sanities itself by conducting thorough internal investigation.”

Ajadi said Bullion Go-Neat has informed security agencies about the matter and is considering legal action against those spreading false information. He also urged media houses to verify information before publishing reports and avoid damaging the company’s reputation based on unsubstantiated claims.