•Importers of fake goods exploit NAFDAC’s weak laws as unregistered products flood Nigerian market
By RITA EJESIEME
•Tomato paste
Photo: Sun Publishing
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Wednesday, December 09, 2009
•Tomato paste
Photo: Sun Publishing
More Stories on This Section


There may well be reasons to believe that the days when importers were scared of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) are over. How else could anyone describe the influx of unregistered and, invariably, adulterated products into the market?

A certain product now in the market, which has neither a manufacturer nor NAFDAC number, typifies these products. Importers of these products are exploring weak laws which only slam them with a fine or administrative charges when the agency gets at them.

Curiously the product serving as an example bears the same name TOMA as an existing and registered tomato which has long been in the market. The question would now be; how did the product get into the Nigerian market without a NAFDAC registration number? It does not even have a manufacturer’s address as against the genuine one which has an address as well as NAFDAC registration. But both bear the name TOMA.

Our investigations show that they probably came through the land borders. The implication being that they evaded customs duties, NAFDAC charges and other fees such as naturally crash their prices against the official product. Consumers are hoodwinked into buying the products, which are understandably cheaper than the original ones because they bear the same name with another well-known product.

Now true owners of the real product who do not want their name in print for security reasons are crying foul.
“There may well be compromises,” said one of them. “Because we have reported this development and NAFDAC officials merely go to the market, take samples and say they are looking for the importer. Even when they see the importer they would only slam administrative charges or fines and the matter ends there. This encourages importation of unregistered products because the importers would prefer to pay the fine since their profit is good enough to pay.”

By coming through the land borders, NAFDAC and other agencies may have lost revenue given that the importers would not have paid port charges, import duties and NAFDAC fees. What are the health implications of these products, particularly this fake TOMA tomato now in the market? A food analyst, Mazi A O Eboh told Daily Sun that the unregistered tomato must be unwholesome.

“As long as it does not bear any NAFDAC number and has no manufacturer’s address then it cannot be genuine. That is why those bringing it in do not want to be identified. It is indeed curious that NAFDAC has not gone to impound this unwholesome product now flooding Lagos and beyond. I would not want to believe that there is any complicity. Perhaps NAFDAC is not aware. I believe the agency would not expose Nigerians to such health hazards by consuming unregistered and cloned or adulterated products.”

TOMA tomato has a history of being cloned and brought in, yet only one company registered it with NAFDAC, a situation that makes it even more curious that the agency has raised no eyebrows over fake and cheap ones flooding the market. Scores of other such products, especially soaps are also said to be existing, giving the impression that a certain laxity may have crept back into the operations of the agency. The tomato in question is found in large quantities at Oke-Arin market in Lagos, in Aba and Onitsha. There are also indications that the unregistered product is in other markets across the country.

mama-gee:

Beware of what?