NAFDAC Registers 54 Products In One Month

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has registered 54 products in one month in its first zonal registration conducted within the South-East.
NAFDAC’s South-East Coordinator, Mr Fori Tatama, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Enugu in an interview with newsmen.
The Tide reports that before now, residents of the zone had to travel to Lagos or Abuja to register their products.
“Fifty four products met NAFDAC regulatory requirements and they were duly certified by the agency fit for human consumption and sales.
“The remaining nine out of the 63 products; their owners were advised to go back and perfect some regulatory requirements and procedures, before they can re-apply for registration.
“The NAFDAC’s decentr-alisation of products’ registration has helped to reduce cost and shorten the time by which products get registered,’’ Tatama said.
The zonal coordinator said that following the decentralisation directive, a total of 63 products were considered for testing, analysis and other regulatory verifications by the agency within a month.
He said the agency had fixed every first Wednesday of the month for their monthly zonal registration approval meeting.
“Today, NAFDAC has truly decentralised its registration to the zonal level for products of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
“Our people who are into cottage and home-grown businesses can get their products registered in NAFDAC zonal office.
“The agency has also slashed the cost of registration by 50 per cent; from N31, 000 to N15, 500 now.
“We have also streamlined the process and procedure of registration to be less cumbersome and less time consuming,’’ he said.
The zonal coordinator urged the people to desist from using consultants for product registration and issues the agency.
“Our members of staff are here to answer all questions and give you regulatory advice and help on what you want to do.
“So, NAFDAC discourages use or involvement of consultant in any form,’’ he said.
The recent decentralisation policy by the agency was part of the Federal Government’s Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) in the country.