Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General (DG), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has said that the agency would soon commence a nationwide monitoring of packaged water factories.
Adeyeye stated this on Tuesday in Jos at a workshop organised for water-based product manufacturers in Plateau.
Represented by Mrs. Abayomi Bolaji, the Director, North-Central Zone of the agency, Adeyeye said that the monitoring exercise was to ensure compliance in the Group Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and to ensure they had batch coding machines.
“I wish to remind you that batch coding of any regulated product is a key requirement for GMP, hence the need to put necessary measures in place for the batch coding of your products to avoid being embarrassed by our officers,” she said.
She explained that batch coding machine would ensure that the expiry dates, production dates and batch numbers were legible on the products and ensure appropriate evaluation by the agency.
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The NAFDAC boss said that consumption of water under poor GMP was dangerous and could result in various ailments and death.
Adeyeye urged the participants to take advantage of the workshop to learn current trends in the production of wholesome and safe products.
Earlier in her remarks, Mrs. Josephine Dayilim, the state coordinator of NAFDAC, had said that standard drinking water should not contain any microorganisms which were usually unhealthy and could cause diseases such as typhoid fever and diarrhea.
She appealed to manufacturers to desist from indulging in sharp practices which adversely affect the quality of packaged water, noting that the quality of the product determines the growth of the business.
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“NAFDAC has, on many occasions, arrested, detained and appropriately sanctioned illegal producers of packaged water and water-based products under unhygienic conditions in Plateau. We will continue to sanction defaulters to deter others while encouraging others to do better,” she said.
Dayilim explained that the workshop was organised to enable members of ATWAP acquire relevant knowledge on NAFDAC requirements.
She listed some sharp practices to include production without a production manager, production under poor General Production Practices, illegible batch number and date markings, among others.
NAN reports that papers presented included the health implications of drinking contaminated water, tariff, common violations and sanctions, requirements for food safety certification, among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the workshop was organised by NAFDAC in collaboration with the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), Plateau chapter.
More than 100 manufacturers from across the 17 local government areas participated in the workshop. (NAN)
