NAFDAC Seals Chinese Supermarket In Abuja For Selling Expired Goods
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has closed a Chinese store located at Azba Mall, 2 Durban Street, Wuse 2, Abuja.
Shaba Mohammed, the agency's Director of Investigation and Enforcement, said the supermarket was closed on Monday for allegedly selling items with Chinese labels without giving the appropriate notice.
He clarified that the agency received "credible information" regarding the supermarket and that all of the products it sold had Chinese labels, which he claimed was against NAFDAC rules.
Mohammed, who also serves as the agency's Federal Task Force Chairman on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs, and Unwholesome Processed Foods, stated that NAFDAC acted swiftly to ascertain the current state of affairs after receiving the information.
He stated that the agency would investigate how the more than 90% of the items in the supermarket were imported into the nation and why they were labeled in foreign languages.
He further mentioned that some of the impacted products were remained on the store shelves even after they had expired.
Mohammed added that it is possible that the retailer circumvented NAFDAC in order to import some of the items.
The store was closed for breaking NAFDAC rules; an investigation into this store will undoubtedly continue, and we will have to visit its warehouse to prevent them from selling certain goods.
"All of the information regarding this supermarket recently came to us; we would have taken regulatory action against it sooner rather than later if we had known about it earlier.
It is illegal to sell goods in a foreign language in a country; if you must sell anything in Arabic, Chinese, or French, you must have an English translation available.
Over 90% of the products that are sold in the supermarket are in Chinese. The supermarket may have some Nigerian customers, who should be able to read about some of the products on the shelves.
Additionally, a few of these things have expired. They should be in English even if they are providing a global listing for import. This supermarket is unable to provide NAFDAC with a foreign language document proving the items' approval.
"This is unacceptable, which is why we have to close the supermarket. Before we can wrap up the case, we will invite the owner to conduct additional research," he stated.
The director warned that the retailer will face consequences if it was determined to have violated NAFDAC laws.
We will take regulatory action against the supermarket, which might be an administrative action, but not all cases are brought to court.
"NAFDAC would have visited the location to assess the distribution and storage of items before issuing any certification.
"NAFDAC will verify that the facilities comply with NAFDAC regulations during its inspection.
"All of these items with all of their descriptions in foreign languages will not be seen at the port by NAFDAC and allowed in; they would have been intercepted immediately," he stated.
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