The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Sokoto State says it recorded significant progress in product registration over the past year, registering over 30 new Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) products despite insecurity challenges that limited access to several local government areas.
The State Coordinator, Abdulsalam Lawal, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Sokoto, noting that the agency also renewed dozens of existing licenses in various product categories.
“If you combine the products whose licenses we renewed with those newly registered, I can say that we have made significant improvements in Sokoto State during the year under review,” Lawal said.
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He explained that while some certificates are valid for five years under full registration, others, especially those for sachets and bottled water, require renewal every two years.
Lawal revealed that NAFDAC sanctioned between 20 and 25 factories, including water producers and bakeries, for various violations ranging from operating with expired licenses to poor hygiene practices.
“We found some factories that were producing with expired licenses, and that is a clear violation. They were sanctioned accordingly,” he said.
“Some others had poor good manufacturing practices (GMP). We even closed some of the facilities until necessary corrections were made.”
However, he noted that no producer was found guilty of compromising product quality and stated that NAFDAC’s interventions were mainly related to hygiene and documentation.
Newslodge