The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has recently uncovered a significant threat to public health in Nigeria, with the discovery of widespread substandard and unregistered sugar products infiltrating markets, particularly in the Southwest and Northeast regions.
These counterfeit sugars, primarily smuggled from Brazil, include brands such as Grupo Moreno, Terous, USI S. Joao, Alvean, and Arapora Bionergia.
They are entering Nigeria through porous borders shared with neighboring countries like Cameroon and the Benin Republic.
Ondaje Ijagwu, the spokesperson for FCCPC, highlighted the gravity of the situation in a statement released on Wednesday.
He noted that these fake sugar products fail to meet the mandatory Vitamin A fortification requirements, posing serious health risks to consumers. "The absence of this fortification exposes Nigerian consumers to serious health risks, including blindness and increased susceptibility to infections, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women," Ijagwu stated.
The FCCPC's investigation revealed that many of these illicit products lack essential labeling, such as production and expiry dates, batch numbers, and the necessary National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration.
This not only endangers consumer health but also undermines the integrity of the local sugar industry and contributes to price manipulation that harms the market.
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