The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said laboratory result of the suspected fake rice showed that the product was not plastic but rice contaminated with micro-organisms.
The Acting Director General, NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said this at a news conference in conjuction with the Nigeria Customs Service in Abuja.
She said the seized rice was unsatisfactory and therefore unwholesome for human consumption, stressing that the consignment would be destroyed upon handover by the Customs.
Mrs. Oni explained that the product branded ”Best Tomato”, was in 25kg bag, without NAFDAC number, batch number, date markings and details of the manufacturer.
“’Floating’ was negative, sedimentation was positive, cooking was normal, odour was normal, colour was off-white and E-coli was within specification. Lead and cadmium were not detected, pre-ashing was normal, ash, moisture and mould were within specification but coli form was above maximum limits,” she said.
Mrs. Oni called on the public to report suspicious cases about all NAFDAC regulated products to any of the offices across the nation for prompt regulatory action.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali, said irrespective of the outcome of the laboratory analysis, customs would remain vigilant and alive to its responsibilities.
Colonel Ali, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General, Tariff and Trade, Umar Iya, said Customs was guided by intelligence reports.
“Intelligence reports indicate that several metric tonnes of expired and dangerous rice are still lying in wait in warehouses in neighbouring countries and the target of the products is the Nigerian market”, he said.
Ali said that the NCS would intensify patrols to ensure that such economic saboteurs do not succeed. He urged warehouse owners and transporters across the country not to accept such smuggled products in their facilities or vehicles respectively.
He warned that both the smuggled products and means of conveyance were liable to seizure.
