Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC, has said once more that the importation of Indomie noodles is forbidden.
This information was provided by Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of NAFDAC, in a statement on Monday. She said that the product is one of the foods on the government’s list of foods that are prohibited.
She added that because the noodles are illegal in the nation, the agency has not registered them, and NAFDAC has only authorized the sale of indomie noodles made in Nigeria, not those that are imported.
“It should be noted that indomie noodles have been banned from being imported into the country for many years. It is one of the foods on the government prohibition list. It is not allowed in Nigeria, and therefore not registered by NAFDAC,” she explained.
In the meantime, the DG stated that NAFDAC has begun its investigation and is responding right away to the announcement of the recall of Indomie noodles by authorities in Taiwan and Malaysia.
“Tomorrow, May 2,2023 , NAFDAC’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate will randomly sample Indomie noodles (including the seasoning) from the production facilities while Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate samples from the markets.
“The compound of interest is ethylene oxide, so the Director, Food Lab Services Directorate has been engaged. He is working on the methodology for the analysis,” she stated.
Adeyeye described the action as extra caution to ensure that the product is not smuggled ingo the country.
“We also want to be sure that the spices used for the Indomie and other noodles in Nigeria are tested. That is what NAFDAC Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) and Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) are doing this week at the production facilities and in the market, respectively. Thank you. The public will be duly updated with the outcomes of the investigation,” she added.