Campaigns

ACTION AGAINST KILLER INDOMIE NODULES IN NIGERIA

Background

The news about the presence of poisonous Indomie Nodules in the Nigerian market started to circulate through a series of text messages on Tuesday May 11th 2004. Persons said to have consumed the item had allegedly taken ill afterwards. No clear evidence of deaths resulting from the consumption of the indomie exists yet. According to the Guardian of Thursday May 13th, 2004, Mr. Gioka Ejionueme, NAFDAC's Director of Enforcement at a press release in Lagos the previous day had stated that NAFDAC ordered the withdrawal of the alleged poisonous Indomie Nodules to confirm the veracity of the claims through laboratory analysis of the product.

Meanwhile, De-united Food Industries, manufacturers of the product, through Mr. Piyush Nair, the companies Marketing Manager, in a press statement in Lagos on 12th May, 2004 expressed its genuine concern on the issue. Mr. Nair stated that the company had commenced investigation on the matter and invited NAFDAC to assist to resolve the issue. The company's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Roger Yeo, in another statement said that NAFDAC officials had visited their factory to inspect the company's compliance and conformity to prescribed approved manufacturing standards.

Results of the analysis conducted by the NAFDAC have confirmed the veracity of the claims. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Boss, Dr. Dora Akinyele, said in a press release on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Network News of 19th May, 2004, that the agency had investigated the claim of the presence of poisonous Indomie Nodules in Nigeria. According to her, the agency received 23 cases of persons taking ill after consumption of the items. The NAFDAC conducted laboratory analyses on 28 samples of the indomie collected randomly from parts of the country, 3 of the samples were found to contain levels of carbonfuran that were beyond acceptable limits fit for human consumption. This is associated with vomiting and stooling among other conditions.

The NAFDAC Boss stated that Indomie Nodules manufactured between 30th March 2004 and 4th April, 2004 were poisonous. The items with Batch number 11; manufacturing date: 30th April, 2004; and batch number 53; manufacturing date: 4th April; expiring date: February, 2004 and another indomie without batch number, but, which the company admitted was their product were poisonous.

The NAFDAC has ordered the withdrawal of the affected indomie from the Nigerian market. It has also ordered the reopening of the factories in Ota, Ogun State and Port Harcourt, Rivers State of the company producing the indomie.

The Issues

The issues as they emanate from the background information above are as follows:

1. The case of this free entrance of poisonous or killer Indomie Nodules into the Nigerian market is one that exposes the porousity of the regulatory mechanisms for ensuring standard food and drugs into the Nigerian market. This is a clear indication of how vulnerable the Nigerian public is to the risk of consuming unsafe food and drugs. This is also undoubtedly an indictment of the agencies of government including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

2. The manufacturers of the poisonous indomie, De-united Food Industries, have by that act of manufacturing unsafe and poisonous indomie committed a crime against Nigerians in general and particularly the affected persons and their families. In fact, the height of the company's criminality is revealed in its manufacturing of indomie nodules without batch numbers. This sounds like a preconceived action that should be viewed with seriousness.

3. The swift response of the NAFDAC to the complaints is commendable, but, the NAFDAC made a hasty decision to reopen the already closed companies.

SWAPHEP's Recommendations

In accordance with one of the objectives of the Society for Water and Public Health Protection (SWAPHEP), to ensure public health, we condemn the act of De-united Food Industries, manufacturers of Indomie Nodules for selling poisonous Indomie Nodules in the Nigerian market thereby putting the Nigerian public in serious health risk. We therefore recommend as follows:

A). NAFDAC should immediately institute a legal action against the De-united Food Industries, manufacturers of indomie nodules for introducing poisonous indomie into the Nigerian market.

B). Accordingly, the NAFDAC should seek a court injunction to seal up all the factories of De-united Food Industries, pending the determination of the suit against the company.

C). The civil society in Nigeria should institute a legal action against the De-united Food Industries, manufacturers of Indomie Nodules for selling poisonous indomie in the market thereby endangering the public health of Nigerians. Joint in the suit will be NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria.

D). The company should immediately be made to pay compensations to the affected citizens of Nigeria who consumed the poisonous indomie.

The Action

The Public Health Department of the Society for Water and Public Health Protection (SWAPHEP) calls on you to join in the action against this criminal act of sale of poisonous Indomie Nodules in Nigeria. Please, do any or all of the following:

1. Make your comments on the issues and recommendations above. These comments will be collated and resent back to you for ratification. The ratified document will be sent back to gather signatures in support of the action. The document with the signatories will be sent to NAFDAC and other government agencies for immediate action

2. Assist to submit any case of poisoning after consumption of indomie to SWAPHEP Secretariat. Cases of illnesses, abnormal conditions and death will be very useful.

3. Affected persons and/or their families should submit their names and contact to the SWAPHEP Secretariat

4. Assist to inform others about the poisonous indomie nodules

5. Assist to withdraw the poisonous indomie nodules from the market.

6. Help to conduct laboratory analysis on the items and send results to SWAPHEP Secretariat.

7. Please, lets know what additional actions you think should be taken. Inform us of what you are doing to help.

To make a comment and/or submit a case, please, click here
Updates on the issues and cases could be viewed in our News section

Call for Collaborations

This is a call to organizations, agencies and individuals with the technical, material and financial capacity to aid this campaign to come and collaborate with SWAPHEP on this campaign. If you are interested, please, contact the SWAPHEP Secretariat at the address below.

Contact:
SWAPHEP Secretariat
#3, Omorogbe Street, Off Egbon Street, Off Uselu-Lagos Road,
P.O.BOX 10577, Benin City, Nigeria.
Telephone: 234 803 742 4999 OR 234 805 622 6653
E-fax: 1 253 563 4047
Email: swaphep@swaphep.virtualactivism.net OR swaphep@yahoo.com
Website: http://swaphep.virtualactivism.net