Nestle Nigeria Plc has raised an alarm over some unscrupulous elements purportedly selling fake cereals like Golden Morn and cornflakes in the open market and boldly advertising them on Instagram and facebook as Nestle products.
Victoria Uwadoka, the Corporate Communications, Public Affairs &Sustainability Lead for Nestlé Nigeria, said this to newsmen during a training organized by Nestle and Lagos Business School (LBS) on Advancing Nutrition Health and Environmental Awareness Programme at LBS Lekki, Lagos.
She said that members of the public should buy the company’s products from reputable sources and outlets.
“They should ensure that any product they are buying has our product information on it and that it is well packaged to ensure the safety of the product,” he said.
She emphasized that some cereals products that are being sold in sacks in open markets are not products of the company and warned consumers against them.
Uwadoka explained that the company has picked up samples of the products and found out that they were fake.
“The unbranded ones that are sold in the bags or buckets are not our products, but they are being positioned as Nestle products. We need to let the people know that they are not what the sellers claim them to be.
“We have reported the case to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) because they have a mechanism in place to checkmate this.
“Nestle has standard packaging for its products and we don’t pack them in any other way. People in the rural areas fall victims of the fake products because they are not on the social media to differentiate between the original and fake products and this is a huge challenge,” she added.
She then urged customers to find information about Nestle products from the company’s helplines on social media.
When we sent message to NAFDAC DG, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye on the issue, she replied that, “the relevant directorates are meeting over the issue. They will be meeting with Nestle as part of the directives I gave them.”
The response from Post Marketing Division of NAFDAC through the DG read, “I wish to inform you that we have done surveillance in 2021 and 2022 and reported companies that sell bulk powder milk, cornflakes in retail(using derica measuring device)in open markets to FSAN or Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, Permit me to follow up with FSAN for update.”
Similarly, The Marketing Surveillance Lead of NAFDAC in Lagos said that fake Golden Morn are circulating in Nasarawa state.
“I have referred to Nasarawa state coordinator through Pharm Bitrus immediately, while we carry out surveillance in Lagos,” the message added.
