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| Mrs Yetunde Oluremi Oni, Acting DG NAFDAC |
The news of the Judgement against Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) went viral yesterday especially on the social media.
Some even accused the conventional media of not making the news headline because the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) has given them “brown envelope”.
Some even put the major blame on the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for not doing their monitoring accordingly.
This is a case that was instituted Nine years ago and I am very sure that those condemning NBC and NAFDAC never bothered to follow up on the case since 2008 when the case was filed.
Immediately the judgement was made, so many questions came to the mind: Did Mr. Fijabi complained initially to the regulatory agency, NAFDAC? Did he get back to the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) on the report of the Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council’s Trading Standard, Department of Environment and Economy Directorate, UK? Has any hospital or clinic reported any death as a result of taking Vitamin C with Fanta or Sprite? If Fanta and Sprite is poisonous, why not ban it instead of instructing them via NAFDAC to warning consumers on the danger of taking Fanta or Sprite with Vitamin C? How many consumers in the rural areas can read the English written in the bottles and cans?
While the questions were begging for answers, the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) came out quickly with a press release which is gave their own side of the case below:
Our attention has been drawn to media reports which contain misleading information on the safety of benzoic and ascorbic acids as ingredients in soft drinks, citing a Lagos High Court order.
In the judgement delivered on February 15, 2017 in a suit involving Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited & Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo v. Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) & National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Lagos High Court dismissed all claims against NBC and held that the company had not breached its duty of care to consumers and that there was no proven case of negligence against it.
In the same judgement, the court directed NAFDAC to mandate NBC to include a warning on its bottles of Fanta and Sprite that its contents cannot be taken with Vitamin C as same become poisonous if taken with Vitamin C. This order was premised on the fact that the products contain the preservative, benzoic acid. NBC has since appealed this order.
Whilst we do not wish to delve into the details of the case or the merits of the court order by this medium, we find it imperative in the interest of consumers and members of the public to make the following clarifications:
In the subject case which dates back to 2007, the UK authorities confiscated a consignment of our products shipped to that country by the plaintiff because their benzoic acid levels were not within the UK national level, although well within the levels approved by both the national regulators for Nigeria and the international levels set by CODEX, the joint intergovernmental body responsible for harmonizing food standards globally.
The UK standards limit benzoic acid in soft drinks to a maximum of 150 mg/kg. Both Fanta and Sprite have benzoic levels of 200 mg/kg which is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250 mg/kg when combined with ascorbic acid and 300 mg/kg without ascorbic acid and also lower than the 600 mg/kg international limit set by CODEX.
Both benzoic acid and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) are ingredients approved by international food safety regulators and used in many food and beverage products around the world.
These two ingredients are also used in combination in some of these products within levels which may differ from one country to another as approved by the respective national food and drug regulators and in line with the range prescribed by CODEX.
The permissible ingredient levels set by countries for their food and beverage products are influenced by a number of factors such as climate, an example being the UK, a temperate region, requiring lower preservative levels unlike tropical countries.
Given the fact that the benzoic and ascorbic acid levels in Fanta as well as the benzoic acid level in Sprite produced and sold by NBC in Nigeria are in compliance with the levels approved by all relevant national regulators and the international level set by CODEX, there is no truth in the report that these products would become poisonous if consumed alongside Vitamin C.
The wrong perception emanating from the media reports that our Fanta and Sprite beverages which are fully compliant with all national and international food quality and safety standards are unsafe, simply because their levels of Benzoic acid were not within the UK standards, is not only unfounded but also undermines the entire food and beverage industry in Nigeria which is regulated by the same ingredient levels approved by NAFDAC and other regulatory bodies for the country.
NBC hereby assures our consumers and members of the public of our unwavering commitment to product quality, safety and customer satisfaction.
Signed: Management, Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd.
Swift Reporters made contact with the Acting Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to hear her own side and below is the response:
Thank you for your concern. Please recall that NAFDAC is a National Regulatory Authority and will react both scientifically and legally on the matter at hand. Our lawyer has filed an appeal and a motion to stay execution of action of the judgement also filed. Thank you for your understanding. Kind regards, Yetunde O. Oni (Mrs)
Ag. DG (NAFDAC).
Ag. DG (NAFDAC).
From the two responses, Nigerians can see that NAFDAC under the leadership of the Acting Director General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, has always ensures that routine laboratory tests are carried out on not only on soft drinks but on all other related products produced and imported into the country to ensure their safety for consumption.
The Acting Director General has ensured that NAFDAC has stringent quality control procedures to ensure that all products produced and imported into the country are safe for end-user consumption.
We called on Nigerians to be patience with NAFDAC to allow them react both scientifically and legally just as the NBC has assured consumers and members of the public of her unwavering commitment to product quality, safety and customer satisfaction.
