Enforcement Officers of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and its Federal Task Force (FTF) at the weekend, in a major mop-up exercise, confiscated cartons of sex-enhancing drugs popularly called Japata.
The product is common in Lagos markets and even among herbal drink sellers on the streets.
But the product, according to NAFDAC, failed laboratory test and it is unsafe for human consumption.
The team visited the popular Apongbon market in Lagos as part of its effort to eradicate fake, unwholesome, and counterfeit alcoholic and non-alcoholic wines and other drinks from circulation.
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Many of the products which NAFDAC described as offending were sold by merchants underneath the bridge and were mopped up.
During the mop-up operation, a transport vehicle containing an array of drinks including JAPATA (a herbal drink that failed laboratory tests) was found hidden in the vehicle.
The offending products were confiscated and evacuated, and the products mopped up from the market are valued at N8m, according to NAFDAC in a statement made available to our correspondent on Monday.
Attempts to apprehend the supplier of the Japata in the market proved abortive. However, investigation is ongoing, the agency said.
The Team Leader, Pharm Florence Uba, said “NAFDAC is fully alive to her responsibilities of assuring the safety, wholesomeness, and quality of foods and other regulated products offered for sale to the public.
“Consumers are hereby advised to be vigilant and exercise discretion when making purchases, especially during this festive season, and report suspicious activities to the nearest NAFDAC office across the federation.”
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