NAFDAC closes sachet water firms

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down at least 10 companies that package sachet water  after it emerged they were not registered with the agency and were operating in unhygienic conditions.

The firms were operating in Port Harcourt.

Cyril Monye, the Public Relations Officer of South-South of the agency, said this was part of a NAFDAC mop-up exercise to ensure that manufacturers of goods and services complied with the rules and regulations of the organisation.

“They (closed companies) are not less than 10. We have closed them down.

They should abide by the rules, they should keep their environment hygienic, they know what they are supposed to do for NAFDAC to certify them fit to operate,” he said.

He meanwhile urged residents in Rivers State to report bogus companies that were producing unhygienic products to NAFDAC.

He condemned such companies for putting the lives of members of the community at risk.

Although sachet water is a laudable idea, particularly outside the home, current trends where some producers package the water under unhygienic conditions, seem to suggest drinking such water could be a route of transmission of water-borne disease.

– CAJ News