A viral video circulating on Facebook exhibits police officers in Delta State questioning a Zobo hawker in regards to the absence of a National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration quantity on the drink.
In the video, one officer is seen shaking a bottle of the drink and asking whether or not it has a NAFDAC registration quantity.
“This is ordinary Zobo. I am a content creator, and I will put it on Facebook,” a person who got here to the hawker’s assist stated.
“Put it (on Facebook),” a police operative responded.
Another officer, holding the drink, stated: “As far as I am concerned, this thing is supposed to have a NAFDAC number. Does this thing have a NAFDAC number? As a police officer, don’t I have the right to ask?”
The confrontation attracted onlookers who gathered across the scene.
Zobo is a well-liked Nigerian beverage made from the dried calyces of the hibiscus plant. It will be ready on its personal or flavoured with elements comparable to pineapple, ginger, garlic and different spices.
Police defend officers
Bright Edafe, the police spokesperson in Delta, defended the officers, saying they had been doing their duties.
Mr Edafe stated he anticipated the press to sentence the content material creator for chastising officers who had been finishing up their obligations.
“The police officers are doing their jobs, but some carried cameras and asked police operatives why a drink should have a NAFDAC NUMBER,” he stated.
He argued that merchandise regulated by NAFDAC should adjust to the company’s necessities, questioning why anybody would problem the necessity for a registration quantity on a consumable product.
He additionally cited the company’s regulatory mandate, arguing that consumable merchandise topic to NAFDAC regulation should meet the related necessities.
NAFDAC clarifies registration necessities
However, Christiana Obiazikwor, NAFDAC’s spokesperson, stated the company doesn’t regulate Zobo bought in atypical containers with out packaging, sealing or labelling.
“If you produce Zobo without packaging it – putting a label, without sealing it. It is not under NAFDAC’s purview to regulate it. But when you now package, seal, and put a label, then it becomes under NAFDAC regulation. But if you just put ordinary Zobo in a container to sell, it is not under NAFDAC,” she stated.
She in contrast the scenario to cooking oil bought in open markets, explaining that it falls exterior the company’s regulatory mandate till it’s packaged, sealed and labelled.
When briefed on the incident in Delta State, Ms Obiazikwor stated: “It is supposed to have a NAFDAC number if it is packaged and labelled.”
{A photograph} of the drink shared on Facebook confirmed it in a labelled bottle.
NAFDAC’s clarification signifies that the product’s packaging and labelling are central to figuring out whether or not it falls beneath the company’s regulatory necessities.
Discover extra from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the newest posts despatched to your e-mail.
