NAFDAC destroyed N1.09bn goods in seven months

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, between January and July this year, destroyed fake and expired products, which comprised drugs, food and drinks worth N1.089bn.

A document obtained from the agency by SUNDAY PUNCH, showed that 61 truckloads and five containers of counterfeited products worth N279m, and 10 truckloads of expired products worth N810m were destroyed within the period under review.

The document also noted that between January and December 2011, 65 truckloads and eight containers of fake and unwholesome products, as well as five truckloads of expired products worth about N628m were destroyed.

The Director of Enforcement, NAFDAC, Mr. MacDonald Garba, said these figures were less than the volume and worth of fake and expired drugs confiscated, and those voluntarily submitted to the agency within the period.

He said the destruction exercises were done occasionally when the stores of any of the zones in the country got filled up.

This, he said, was mainly because of high cost of the exercise.

According to the Garba, the relative high volume of products destroyed within the first seven months of this year, compared to that of last year, can be attributed to the fact that more manufacturers and distributors now voluntarily submit expired products for destruction.

He, however, said the persons or companies that submit these products do bear the cost of the destruction exercise, which was aimed at removing such products from circulation.

Garba said, “If we (NAFDAC) burn products loaded in 20ft container, the person pays N100, 000. Crushing the same size costs the person N200, 000.

“If we are to crush and bury at the same time, the person pays N240, 000, while burying spoilt fish in 20ft container will cost the person N300, 000. This is for general destruction.

“But for destruction of small quantities we charge between N20, 000 and N100, 000.”

Also, Garba raised the alarm over products that bore fake NAFDAC registration number that were in circulation.

He said this practice was common with manufacturers of sachet and bottled water, adding that the agency recently arrested persons trying to smuggle water sachets with a Nigerian company’s name and fake NAFDAC number to Ghana.

He explained, “There are different ways they do these things. Some can just sit down and formulate a number and print on the water sachet they produce.

“But the more rampant one is the people who produce the sachet water legally go to their printer to print the company logo and the authentic NAFDAC number and after, these people who are doing it illegally will approach the printer and they would print the same logo and NAFDAC number for them,” he said.

Garba noted that it was difficult to differentiate the fake from the original, except for discrepancies in the formulated numbers.

He, however, said genuine manufacturers, who produced on a large scale had overwhelmed the unapproved manufacturers who produced in small quantities.