The team led by Mr. Adeniran Kazeem from the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently targeted beverage companies in the Sango-Ota area of Ogun State, including Shash Industries Limited in Iyesi-Ota, Nigerian Distilleries Limited, and Intercontinental Distilleries Limited. They sealed the production lines for sachet alcoholic beverages and bottled alcoholic drinks smaller than 200 ml.
NAFDAC has initiated actions to stop the production lines of sachet alcohol and small bottle drinks in beverage companies. According to Kazeem, the enforcement was based on a consensus reached with distillers and blenders to discontinue the production or importation of such products.
This agreement emerged from a December 2018 committee involving the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the Association of Food, Beverages, and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), deciding to cease production and importation by December 31, 2023.
Despite a five-year grace period intended for manufacturers to clear existing stock, NAFDAC ceased approving new productions or importations. The continuous production of these items, according to Kazeem, is driven by their affordability and ease of sale, disregarding their adverse societal impacts, such as alcohol abuse among young children and elementary pupils.
The operation included taking stock of the items found, which Kazeem mentioned would be removed and disposed of, to prevent societal and moral degradation expected from the prolonged availability of these alcoholic products.
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