THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disowned a viral list circulating on social media, purportedly containing fake, adulterated or substandard products in Nigeria.
NAFDAC, in a statement by its resident media consultant, Olusayo Akintola, in Abuja, on Thursday, October 8, made it categorically clear that the list did not emanate from it and should not be regarded as an official alert, recall or safety communication.
It stated that NAFDAC, as a responsible regulatory authority, does not make sweeping declarations about product safety or authenticity without appropriate regulatory processes, including investigation, sampling and necessary scientific laboratory verification.
According to the statement, “the agency’s regulatory communications are ordinarily specific and verifiable. Where a product or particular batch is found to be substandard, falsified, adulterated or otherwise unsafe, NAFDAC provides the relevant details.
“Where a product or particular batch is found to be substandard, NAFDAC communicates the appropriate regulatory action through its established official channels.”
It further stated that such information follow established regulatory procedures for verification and be would be communicated through official channels, ensuring relevant regulatory information remained verifiable and accessible to stakeholders and the public through proper NAFDAC communications.
“Consequently, members of the public are strongly advised to disregard the viral list in its entirety and to refrain from sharing or amplifying the unverified information.
“It is particularly important that Nigerians understand the difference between an allegation circulating on social media and an official regulatory finding.”
“A product cannot responsibly be declared fake or unsafe merely because its name or photograph appears on a social-media list.”
It urged Nigerians to verify information through official sources, saying the clarification became necessary to protect consumers from unnecessary fear and confusion, while ensuring legitimate businesses and manufacturers were not unfairly subjected to reputational and commercial damage.
The agency stated that if an unverified list containing numerous legitimate products were mistakenly accepted as an official NAFDAC declaration, consequences could extend beyond consumer anxiety and affect businesses to also affect legitimate manufacturers, distributors, retailers and the wider pharmaceutical, food and consumer-products market, potentially causing avoidable disruption and reputational damage to them.
It added: “The agency will continue to take appropriate enforcement action whenever its investigations and scientific assessments establish that a product requires regulatory intervention.
“The agency, therefore, urges members of the public, healthcare professionals, manufacturers, distributors and other stakeholders to rely on NAFDAC’s official communication channels for information concerning product alerts, recalls, withdrawals, suspensions and other regulatory actions.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the viral list did not emanate from NAFDAC. Members of the public are urged to disregard it in its entirety and not circulate it as an official NAFDAC publication.
“NAFDAC appreciates the vigilance of Nigerians in reporting suspected counterfeit, adulterated or substandard products.”
