In a pre-Christmas crackdown to ensure consumer safety, officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have arrested two persons for allegedly tampering with expiry dates on some products in a warehouse in Apata, Jos North, Plateau State.
The Zonal Director, NAFDAC, North Central Zone, Kenneth Azikiwe, revealed that the operation discovered products, including wines and hot drinks, whose original expiry and manufacturing dates had been changed with the use of chemicals and replaced with new labels. The two suspects, Yusuf Hassan and Emma Nwobi, were arrested and are still being interrogated, while a search for more accomplices continues.
Azikiwe warned consumers to be on the lookout and inspect the manufacturing and expiry dates on product labels rather than stickers. Plateau State Coordinator, Dr. Obida Musa, also condemned the act, labeling it reckless and dangerous.
One of the suspects, Hassan, urged the court to temper justice with mercy, explaining that he did not know the products he distributed had expired dates. He said he received the items from supplier Emma Nwobi and did not realize they had expired, emphasizing that he had no shop and was only reselling to local buyers.
NAFDAC said it was still committed to routine inspection of markets, distributors, and points of sale to save consumers from hazardous and fake products.
