MANUFACTURERS of glass-bottled soft drinks which are prone to harbouring particles injurious to human health, now have a year’s grace, up to January 1, 2008 to package their products in plastic bottles.
NAFDAC Director General, Dora Akunyili who handed down the notice at an interactive session with stakeholders in the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages sector in Abuja yesterday said audit inspection of bottling plants indeed revealed that washing of bottles to be re-used is laden with unhygienic practices.
“NAFDAC mandates all soft drink manufacturers to adopt the use of plastic bottles within one year. In other words, all glass bottles should be phased out before January 1, 2008. Enforcement on defaulters starts on January 2, 2008. You, therefore, have a whole year to comply. In addition, all plants must install Electronic Bottle Inspection (EBI) before January 1, 2008,” Prof. Akunyili said
While placing premium on products’ expiry date, Mrs Akunyili warned that any company found to be revalidating expiry date would be shut down and heavily sanctioned.
Justifying NAFDAC’s directive, Akunyili listed presence of fragments of or whole cockroach, centipedes, unidentified sediments or particles, crushed crown cocks, parts or whole of razor blade, candle wax, drinking straw, slimy filth, obvious mould growth and pieces of paper among other objects often found in soft drink bottles.
The NAFDAC chief disclosed that audit report revealed that most of the bottle washing machines at plants suffer from one deficiency or the other. “Some plants had no protectors on the conveyor belt with already washed bottles. The protectors are meant to prevent re-introduction of dirt or flying insects or objects into the bottles before being filled with the finished products. Again, bottled plants that depend solely on human vision for bottle inspection for long hours run the risk of defective bottles passing undetected due to tired eyes,” she added.
With the incalculable damage done to Nigerians occasioned by the consumption of contaminated soft drinks, no compensation is paid to consumers who falls victim to the practice, the directors generally stressed.