The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has seized over 10,000 cartons of unregistered tomato paste and cosmetic products at the Lagos Trade Fair Market.

 

 

 

The Director of Investigation and Enforcement in the agency, Dr. Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday, August 12. He mentioned that de@ths from substandard medicines, cosmetics and unsafe foods exceed the number of people k!lled by Boko Haram. In his words

 

“We seized over 10,000 cartons of unregistered tomato paste, as well as cosmetics such as creams, soaps, body sprays, washes, air fresheners and toothpaste. We cannot guarantee the safety of these seized products because they have not undergone any regulatory scrutiny.

 

One way to safeguard public health is to remove harmful products from markets before they can kill unsuspecting Nigerians.

 

I can say authoritatively that deaths from substandard medicines, cosmetics and unsafe foods exceed the number of people killed by Boko Haram.

 

This is why the agency remains committed to ensuring Nigerians use only products that have passed regulatory processes, assuring safety and effectiveness.”he said

 

 

 

The Director said a newly inaugurated multi-agency task force would boost NAFDAC’s surveillance against substandard medicines and unsafe processed foods nationwide. He added that the agency’s partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service to strengthen border control was yielding results.

 

 

 

“We are working hard to prevent falsified and unregistered items from entering the country, hence our Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Customs Service. The Nigeria Customs Service has handed over many seized fake products to us, and we have also transferred some to them,” he added