By Oluwabukola Akanni
Ibadan – The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will no longer approve new registration for alcohol packaged in sachets.
The Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known on
Tuesday in Ibadan at an interactive session with stakeholders in food
and drugs manufacturing.
The NAFDAC boss said that alcohol packaged in sachets had greatly
contributed to increasing drug and alcohol abuse in the society.
Adeyeye said that the agency would also phase out the use of pet bottles
used in packaging of alcohol to address the increasing spate of abuse
in the country.
She said: “The agency remains undaunted in its efforts to reduce the
incidence of substandard and falsified products as well as the smuggling
and abuse of various products”.
Adeyeye also said that in order to encourage local manufacture of herbal
medicines, the agency was collaborating with traditional herbalists and
researchers.
“The agency is keen on having herbal medicines widely accepted as safe,
hence we will continue to test them for clinical efficacy before giving
full registration status.
“We are also on a mission to turn herbal medicines into products that
can be commercialised through collaboration between traditional
herbalists and academic researchers.
“In encouraging local manufacturing of medicines that are usually
imported, the agency will enforce a five- year importation permit given
to manufacturers with a mandate that they produce five years plan geared
towards local manufacturing upon renewal.
“In addition, the agency will also give five-year exclusive rights to
companies to market their products without competition if they develop
food and drugs that show demonstrable research and development
innovation.
“This development will be effective before the end of the first quarter of the year,” she said. (NAN)
