NAFDAC Bans Alcohol In Sachets, Containers Below 200ml
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has banned drinks with 30 per cent alcoholic content from being packed below 200milimitres in a measure to ensure a saner society by curbing reckless consumption of alcohol among the youths.
With this development, the federal government has outlawed alcohol packed in a small sachet, small volume PET and glass bottles that are below 200ml.
With this, the federal government may have succeeded in reducing alcohol consumption at motor parks across the country. It could also reduce the sales and profit of the manufacturers of the products.
For the registered alcoholic drinks in the affected category, the Food and Drug agency vowed that their validity would not exceed the Year 2024 following the agreement by their producers of alcohol in sachets and small volume to reduce production by 50 per cent with effect from January 31st 2020, while ensuring the products are completely phased out in the country by 31st January 2024.
The agency has also imposed other stringent regulatory measures in a decisive move to reduce availability and curb abuse of alcohol in the country.
The agency’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye explained in Abuja that the decision followed the December 2018 recommendation of a high powered committee of the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the manufacturing industry represented by the Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN).
The director-general noted that manufacturers of low volume alcohol beverages (200ml) with satisfactory laboratory reports, which were already submitted to NAFDAC for registration before this decision, had been directed to reformulate their products to stipulated standards free of charge.
Also, the director-general said that DIBAN had been given a matching order to embark on intensive nationwide sensitisation campaigns against underage consumption of alcohol by adolescents below the age of 18 years in the bid to stem the tide of alcohol abuse in the country.
Adeyeye stressed: “Even as we grapple with the containment of COVID-19 pandemic, NAFDAC is resolutely committed to the strict implementation of the regulations and regulatory measures towards safeguarding the Health of Nigerians particularly the vulnerable youths against the dangers of reckless consumption of alcohol.”
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