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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has threatened to clamp down on sachet water producers that compromise on quality and failed the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.
The Agency said it had observed that, shortly after procuring registration approval, many of the over 16,000 registered producers of packaged water across Nigeria more often lower standards and produce the essential commodity under despicable conditions, putting the health of the Nigerian consuming public at risk.
A statement released in Abuja, on Sunday, by the Resident Media Consultant to NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, indicated that NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, dropped the warning in Abuja during a virtual stakeholders meeting with packaged water producers in Nigeria on the need to sanitize the industry.
She said: “We all know that the situation in Nigeria today is such that the entire Nigerian populace including the healthy, elderly, pregnant women, children and the weak with low immunity depend on packaged water for sustenance, as many believe falsely or rightly that the municipal water, where available, may hardly be safe for drinking.”
The NAFDAC boss described water as a unique product because it has no alternative, stressing that everybody needs water or at least water based product for hydration, proper digestion of food, drugs and other human needs to sustain life. ‘’water is life’’, she noted.
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She, however, put forward the fact that water can only sustain life when it’s available for drinking in the safe and potable form, and otherwise could cause health complications that could even lead to death.
‘’You are in the noble business of providing Nigerians with safe drinking water. But if you engage in activities that fall short of standards and regulatory requirements, you may be responsible for illness and even death of innocent Nigerians,” she informed them.
She insisted that packaged water must meet requirements of NAFDAC regulations and provisions of the Nigerian industrial standards for packaged water, noting that NAFDAC would intensify routine monitoring to ensure consistent compliance on GMP and other requirements; and apply appropriate sanctions on defaulters and violators.
Prof. Adeyeye appealed to the conscience of the producers to produce safe water for public consumption, urging them to belong to the group of life savers and not otherwise, promising that nafdac will collaborate with the various associations with a view to sanitizing the industry.
Both National Presidents of the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP) Mrs. Tina Ativie and Water Producers Association of Nigeria (WAPAN) Mr. Egberi Odiri Mack’s on, in their respective remarks commended NAFDAC for the initiative.
They both explained various steps their respective Associations have taken in areas of enlightenment, education, and self-monitoring of their members. They expressed the desire of their Associations to cooperate and collaborate with NAFDAC to ensure sanity in the packaged water sector.
