DG Says Fake and Counterfeit Drug Cases Reduced To Five Per cent
THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced seizure of three 40 feet container loads of potassium bromate valued at N600 million.
NAFDAC Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii, who revealed the seizure yesterday at a press briefing in Lagos, noted that despite the agency’s massive enlightenment programme on the dangers of continuous use of potassium bromate and its negative health effects, some unscrupulous elements in the society have continued to import it.
Orhii stated that the chemical was impounded in Lagos during routine surveillance by the agency at Tincan Island Port, Lagos.
The containers impounded by the agency included MSKU 8850958, MSKU 1066991, and MSKU 0163554. Each canton containing 20 jars of 250 tablets of the substance. The seized items, Orhii stated, can serve 50 trailer loads of flour.
He revealed that the three containers were imported by Bumazek Enterprises Ltd, but were cleared by Blessed Alpha and Omega as Baby Walkers.
He stated that the agency would soon begin nationwide analysis of bread products to determine whether they contain bromate in order to sanction any bakery found to have used the substance.
The NAFDAC boss reiterated the agency’s ban of bromate and pledged to continue to protect the health of the nation.
His words: “In spite of the massive public enlightenment of dangers of the use of potassium bromate and its negatives health implications, some unscrupulous persons have continued to import this carcinogenic substance.
“During routine surveillance by NAFDAC officials at Tincan Island Port, Lagos, three 40 feet container loads of potassium bromate were impounded. They an estimated street value of N600 million and can serve more than 50 trailer loads of flour.
“We are immediately commencing a nationwide analysis of bread products to determine whether they contain potassium bromate. Any bakery found to have used potassium bromate will be severely sanctioned.”
Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is an oxidising agent used as a food additive mainly in the baking industry. The substance, which has been banned in Nigeria and most developed countries of the world, is said to have capacity to cause cancer and kidney diseases in both man and experimental animals.
In a related development, Dr. Paul Orhii yesterday gave the agency a pass mark in its fight against fake and counterfeit drugs, saying the cases have drastically reduced to five per cent from 45 per cent in the last two years. Orhii attributed the feat to the use of sophisticated counterfeiting detecting equipment and technologies which he said have accorded the agency international acclaim and respect.
The NAFDAC chief who spoke during the conferment of the ‘Public Officer of the Year’ award on him by the African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, publishers of Tribune titles, dedicated the award “to all NAFDAC staff for their resilience and commitment to duty; all our supportive stakeholders and the entire people and government of Nigeria for their support and for making it possible for us to carry out our mandate.”
Orhii said the agency has achieved a lot in fighting fake and substandard drugs, adding that it has visited over 19 states to ensure eradication of fake drugs. “We discovered that incidence of fake drugs has been reduced to 5% in the country through the procurement of sophisticated equipment to identify fake products in the Nigerian markets, thereby contributing to the sanitization of the health sector,” he said.
He listed the technologies employed to curb the menace of drug counterfeiting to include TruScan (Raman Spectroscopy), a device used in the on-the-spot detection of counterfeit medicines; Mobile Authentication Service through the use of SMS text messages; Black Eye (Infra Red), a detecting device from Israel; Radio Frequency Identification, and Minilab through the German Pharma Health Fund supported recently with 20 units from the Department for International Development (DFID).
THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced seizure of three 40 feet container loads of potassium bromate valued at N600 million.
NAFDAC Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii, who revealed the seizure yesterday at a press briefing in Lagos, noted that despite the agency’s massive enlightenment programme on the dangers of continuous use of potassium bromate and its negative health effects, some unscrupulous elements in the society have continued to import it.
Orhii stated that the chemical was impounded in Lagos during routine surveillance by the agency at Tincan Island Port, Lagos.
The containers impounded by the agency included MSKU 8850958, MSKU 1066991, and MSKU 0163554. Each canton containing 20 jars of 250 tablets of the substance. The seized items, Orhii stated, can serve 50 trailer loads of flour.
He revealed that the three containers were imported by Bumazek Enterprises Ltd, but were cleared by Blessed Alpha and Omega as Baby Walkers.
He stated that the agency would soon begin nationwide analysis of bread products to determine whether they contain bromate in order to sanction any bakery found to have used the substance.
The NAFDAC boss reiterated the agency’s ban of bromate and pledged to continue to protect the health of the nation.
His words: “In spite of the massive public enlightenment of dangers of the use of potassium bromate and its negatives health implications, some unscrupulous persons have continued to import this carcinogenic substance.
“During routine surveillance by NAFDAC officials at Tincan Island Port, Lagos, three 40 feet container loads of potassium bromate were impounded. They an estimated street value of N600 million and can serve more than 50 trailer loads of flour.
“We are immediately commencing a nationwide analysis of bread products to determine whether they contain potassium bromate. Any bakery found to have used potassium bromate will be severely sanctioned.”
Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is an oxidising agent used as a food additive mainly in the baking industry. The substance, which has been banned in Nigeria and most developed countries of the world, is said to have capacity to cause cancer and kidney diseases in both man and experimental animals.
In a related development, Dr. Paul Orhii yesterday gave the agency a pass mark in its fight against fake and counterfeit drugs, saying the cases have drastically reduced to five per cent from 45 per cent in the last two years. Orhii attributed the feat to the use of sophisticated counterfeiting detecting equipment and technologies which he said have accorded the agency international acclaim and respect.
The NAFDAC chief who spoke during the conferment of the ‘Public Officer of the Year’ award on him by the African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, publishers of Tribune titles, dedicated the award “to all NAFDAC staff for their resilience and commitment to duty; all our supportive stakeholders and the entire people and government of Nigeria for their support and for making it possible for us to carry out our mandate.”
Orhii said the agency has achieved a lot in fighting fake and substandard drugs, adding that it has visited over 19 states to ensure eradication of fake drugs. “We discovered that incidence of fake drugs has been reduced to 5% in the country through the procurement of sophisticated equipment to identify fake products in the Nigerian markets, thereby contributing to the sanitization of the health sector,” he said.
He listed the technologies employed to curb the menace of drug counterfeiting to include TruScan (Raman Spectroscopy), a device used in the on-the-spot detection of counterfeit medicines; Mobile Authentication Service through the use of SMS text messages; Black Eye (Infra Red), a detecting device from Israel; Radio Frequency Identification, and Minilab through the German Pharma Health Fund supported recently with 20 units from the Department for International Development (DFID).
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