By Asmau Ahmad
The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has sensitised packaged water producers on hygienic way of production for healthier society.
Flagging-off the programme in Birnin Kebbi, the Coordinator, NAFDAC, Kebbi Office, Mr Muiddeen Suleiman, said the essence of the programme was to improve the knowledge, understanding and the purpose of regulation among the operators of packaged water and other related products manufacturing outfits in the state.
“During my engagement with the producers in the last one year or so, I observed that most of the people who are involved in the business have other businesses.
“They just opened this business as an additional source of income, therefore, they are not there to monitor what’s going on.
“Most of them did not even come to NAFDAC office and seek for knowledge on the guidelines or requirements; they don’t know the dos and don’ts and that affects the quality of people they also employ who don’t even know requirements for registration and they don’t know the standard operating procedure for production.
“NAFDAC as an agency, our mandate is to ensure that you produce good packaged water good for consumption, the agency is not introduced to punish or sanction anybody but to ensure production of good quality and hygienic products,” he noted.
While lamenting that there were over 500 registered water producers across Kebbi, Suleiman said very few of such numbers turned up for the programme.
In a Goodwill message, the State Coordinator, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Alhaji Nasir Hussain said their mandate was akin to NAFDAC, hence the need to be part of the sensitisation programme.
He observed that some packaged water factories were not good enough for production, advising that producers must brace up to the challenges, to ensure production of quality products.
The General Manager, Kebbi State Waterbord, Alhaji Zayyanu Shehu, said the sensitisation was very vital in view of the fact that most of the packaged water producers didn’t know their responsibilities.
The general manager, who was represented by a Director, Alhaji Aminu Bunza, appealed to the agency to sustain the tempo, to ensure availability of quality water in the society.
In his speech, the Chairman, Packaged Water Producers Association, Alhaji Aliyu Bande, lamented the low turnout of members to the programme and urged them to live up to expectation of both the agency and consumers.
He lauded NAFDAC for organising the programme, describing it as a step towards not only producing quality water but also a move to standardise the business for greater performance.
Bande urged members of the association to be united to move the association to greater heights.
