Safety concerns over unlabelled foreign products have prompted the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to shut down a Chinese supermarket in Abuja’s upscale Wuse 2 district, where more than 90 percent of goods were found labelled exclusively in the Chinese language.
The closure of the supermarket, located at Azba Mall on Durban Street, came after NAFDAC’s investigation revealed not only language violations but also expired products still being displayed on shelves.
“Selling items in a foreign language in a country is a violation of our law. If you must sell anything either in Arabic, Chinese and French, you must have an English translation of it,” NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Shaba Mohammed, said during a press briefing after Monday’s operation.
“More than 90 percent of the goods sold in the supermarket are in Chinese. You might find some Nigerians patronising the supermarket; they should be able to read about some of the items on the shelves.”
Mohammed, who also chairs the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs, and Unwholesome Processed Foods, suggested the supermarket might have circumvented normal import procedures.
“NAFDAC would not see all these items at the port with descriptions in a foreign language and allow them in; they would have been intercepted immediately,” he explained.
The agency plans to extend its investigation to the supermarket’s warehouse and will summon the owner for questioning. Mohammed indicated that while not all violations result in court cases, the establishment faces potential regulatory action if found culpable.
NAFDAC regulations require all imported products to include English translations and proper certification. The agency’s certification process includes site visits to ensure proper storage and distribution practices are followed.
“Before any certification is given by NAFDAC, it would have visited the site for goods storage and distribution practice,” Mohammed said, adding that the agency will conduct a thorough investigation into how these products entered the country without proper documentation.
The supermarket will remain sealed pending the completion of NAFDAC’s investigation and potential administrative actions.
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