The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down three alcohol manufacturing companies in Ota, Ogun State, for allegedly violating the Federal Government’s ban on the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.
In a statement, the agency said the enforcement operation was led by the Assistant Director of its Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, Kunke Ojo.
According to NAFDAC, officials uncovered multiple regulatory violations during inspections of the affected facilities.
The agency said its enforcement team first inspected one of the factories last Friday, where sachet alcoholic beverages were allegedly being produced alongside large quantities of PET bottles.
Although the factory was initially placed under regulatory hold, NAFDAC said a follow-up inspection revealed that the sachet alcohol products had been secretly removed from the premises.
“The factory was initially put on hold. However, during a follow-up visit, officials discovered that the sachet products had been secretly removed from the premises. NAFDAC has flagged this as a serious violation, as the products were already under regulatory enforcement,” the agency said.
At the second facility, NAFDAC said its officials allegedly caught the company continuing the production of sachet alcoholic beverages despite the federal prohibition.
“The premises were immediately sealed,” the statement added.
The agency also disclosed that it had previously inspected the third company in January, during which 22 production machines were placed on hold and millions of PET bottles and sachet packaging materials were confiscated for destruction.
However, during the latest enforcement exercise, officials allegedly discovered that the company had broken the regulatory seals, resumed production and continued manufacturing sachet alcoholic drinks.
“Millions of additional PET bottles were found on-site, leading to the immediate sealing of the factory,” NAFDAC said.
The agency urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report the illegal production or sale of banned sachet alcoholic beverages to the nearest NAFDAC office.