NATIONAL Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Kwara State has said it has sealed up over 200 bakeries between January and December, 2016 over unhealthy production.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Thursday, the coordinator of the agency in the state, Mrs Roseline Ajayi, said that over 200 bakeries sealed in 2016 across the 16 Local Government areas of the state were producing bread in unhealthy environment, adding that the practice constituted health hazard to residents of the state.
The NAFDAC boss said that other offences violated by the sealed bakeries were use of bromate, lack of labels on their breads, operating on expired licences and failure to upgrade licenses permit as required by the agency.
“The NAFDAC in the state during 2016 sanctioned over 200 for failure to meet our standard and specifications for producing breads,” she said.
She also said that over 150 of the sealed bakeries had been reopened after meeting the NAFDAC standard for producing bread between the last quarter of 2016 and now.
Mrs Ajayi warned bakeries and other factories in the state to desist from producing unhealthy products, stating that the NAFDAC would not hesitate to seal any factory who fails to comply on standard.
In his reaction, the Chairman of Kwara Bakers Association, Alhaji Babatunde Gidado, said the step taken by NAFDAC towards ensuring quality bread production in the state was part of effort to safeguard wellbeing of people.
He also said that members of the association would continue to cooperate with NAFDAC in its bid to continue to ensure a healthy living.
It was gathered that there are over 400 bakeries in Kwara State out of which over 250 are situated in the llorin metropolis.
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