In recent times, Nigeria has seen a wave of illegal production of fake consumer goods by unpatriotic individuals and groups who seek to make fortunes at the expense of the lives of Nigerians. Regulatory agencies, including NAFDAC, have had to wage a consistent ‘war’ against this act by shutting illegal production outfits and markets from north to south of Nigeria. In this article, Ayuba Maffi writes that despite these regulatory efforts, substandard and unbranded products are still being circulated in the markets, posing health risks to unsuspecting consumers.
A visit to most markets in northern Nigeria shows a huge influx of unbranded products. As it is with adulterated products, many unbranded monosodium glutamate (MSG) products are rewrapped and displayed in transparent nylon bags for consumers to buy.
The most worrisome is the fact that the consumption of this unbranded MSG has grown significantly among Northerners, posing a serious health risk.
Despite increasing warnings from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), consumers have remained hell-bent on patronising unbranded and rewrapped MSG. This is because the unbranded MSG are sold in the open, from uncovered unbranded sacks and in measurements to unsuspecting buyers who have chosen quantity over quality.
Unlike leading brands like Ajinomoto, Vedan, which are packed in sachets, sold in healthy sizes and approved by NAFDAC, these unbranded raw ones are the opposite. The alarming part is that their manufacturers cannot be traced to check for their authenticity. In the northern part of Nigeria, it seems it has come to stay because the demand is high.
Investigation revealed that at the Singer market and Abubakar Rimi markets in Kano, a 25kg bag sells for N45,000, allowing retailers to sell in small units, including measuring in what locals call ‘mudu’.
At the Central markets in Kaduna and Maiduguri, the Sabon Gari market in Sokoto, the demand remains high, with the price of a 25kg bag ranging between N46,000 and N50,000. In a 25kg bag, there are as many as 10 to 15 ‘mudu’.
The customers, not minding the health risks, prefer this unapproved product because of the number of mudus and the flexibility to adulterate the product by mixing it with salt to increase its bulk and make more profit.
The food culture of the north, too, being one that allows for very sweet drinks and sweet foods, presents a good market for such seasonings.
Read also: Overview of product registration and other incidental matters at NAFDAC – Frequently Asked Questions.
Recently, NAFDAC sealed a warehouse belonging to DEE-LITE IMPEX Distribution Co. Ltd in Sokoto State, after discovering a large quantity of unregistered food products, including 5,347 bags of MSG. The warehouse located on Coca-Cola Road, off Western Bypass in Sokoto, was found to violate NAFDAC’s regulations.
According to NAFDAC, the company had imported unbranded MSG under a permit intended for processing, but was found selling the product directly as a finished product, which is prohibited and dangerous to human health.
Abdullahi Guruji, a health expert who lives in Gombe, said consumers should be wary of what they consume to avoid any health complications. Guruji said it was incumbent on the consumers not to sacrifice their health on the altar of cheap pricing of food products.
He said the regulator had made it abundantly clear for consumers to look out for branded MSG before embarking on a purchase, wondering why they chose to ignore it at the expense of their lives.
“We should not compromise our health because of taste buds. We acknowledge the fact that times are tough, but we need to give due consideration to our health in our decision making as far as food consumption is concerned,” he said.
Another food enthusiast, Buba Adamu, said that consumers have a role to play in safeguarding their health. According to Adamu, the responsibility to protect one’s health should not be limited to NAFDAC, SON and other regulatory bodies alone. He urged every Nigerian to look out for themselves and their fellow citizens to avert this looming health hazard.
While calling on food vendors to play active roles in this regard, he urged them to be conscious of the health of their customers by using standard, branded products in their cooking. The health expert, however, tasked NAFDAC to step up action in the area of enforcement, saying that doing so will curb the activities of unscrupulous Nigerians who are unrelenting in their effort to harm Nigerians.
“Whenever we visit the market, we would save many from serious health issues by shutting down the merchants of unbranded monosodium glutamate, the sellers of fake/substandard drugs, and the sellers of adulterated flavoured drinks, bottled water, among other items that serve as refreshments,” he added.
Between January and February this year, the regulatory body took extraordinary steps to stem the tide of fake and illegally produced drugs in areas like Idumota in Lagos, Aba in Abia, and Onitsha in Anambra, where it shut markets and carted away truckloads of substandard and fake drugs to the admiration and commendation of Nigerians from different walks of life.
“We found fake and counterfeit medicines in over 50 trailers, along with banned drugs dating back to 2007,” Martin Iluyomade, director, Enugu zonal operations of NAFDAC, said recently about the operations of the agency in south-east markets.
According to Iluyomade, the operation was based on extensive intelligence gathering, and the closure was necessary to prevent confrontation with traders. “The discovery in the market was alarming,” he stated, revealing that large quantities of narcotics capable of destabilising any nation were recovered.
Chukwuma Soludo, the Anambra State governor, while reacting to the discovery in markets in the state, raised concerns over the infiltration of counterfeit and banned drugs into the Nigerian market, and questioned the role of regulatory authorities at Nigeria’s borders.
“How these drugs, which have been banned globally and locally, are still being manufactured in India, pass through our various ports (sea and air), and find their way to our local drug markets remains a question only the relevant authorities can answer,” Soludo said.
Adamu believes that NAFDAC can replicate the feat it achieved in Idumota, Onitsha, Aba and other places in the south, in northern parts of the country, by stopping the free circulation of unbranded monosodium glutamate in markets across the north where consumers face health risks.
