NAFDAC
AND CUSTOMS SEARCH FOR PLASTIC RICE CURRENTLY IN CIRCULATION
The search for the poisonous cereal coming on the heels of the
alarm raised by some stakeholders over the influx of unmonitored and
unregulated rice into the country through its various borders. It would be
recalled that reports emanated yesterday that a Nigerian woman bought the
synthetic rice rumoured to be imported from China by unscrupulous poeple for
maximum benefits.
In an interview with Saturday Tribune, NAFDAC’s Director of
Special Duties, Mr Abubakar Jimoh, said: “Immediately we read in the papers
that plastic/fake rice was being shipped to Nigeria through our borders, our
Acting Director General, Mrs Yetunde Oni, gave a marching order to all our
NAFDAC formations scattered across the country.”
According to him, “at NAFDAC, we have what is called the Post
Marketing Surveillance Directorate which is in charge of going round local
markets to confirm the standards of foods that are being sold there. So, even
if this rice beats Customs checkpoints at the border posts and gets into the
markets, our men can still go there and seize them for destruction. This
directorate goes about sniffing for substandard food and drug items in our
markets.
The Acting DG has given our officers a marching order and they
are currently combing markets all over the country for this plastic/fake rice.”
The Nigeria Customs Service has also intensified seizure of toxic rice
illegally imported into the country. The fears of consumers about the
toxic/plastic rice particularly stemmed from the fact that Yuletide, known for
the heavy consumption of rice in many homes, is here. Nigeria shares
major borders with Benin Republic at Seme Border (Lagos State), Idiroko (Ogun
State), Saki (Oyo State) and Chikanda (Kwara State), and it is on record that
all sorts of rice have passed through these routes into many Nigerian markets
unnoticed.
Although the existence of unhealthy and toxic rice in many
Nigerian markets has been confirmed by NCS and NAFDAC, the agencies said they
had not found a grain of plastic rice in any local market.
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