By Yemi Olakitan
The Ogun State Government has started inspecting table and sachet water factories to make sure they follow regulations and prevent the spread of cholera.
Ola Oresanya, the Commissioner for Environment, made this announcement on Sunday in Abeokuta during a stakeholders’ meeting that was also attended by representatives from the Ministries of Environment, Health, Industries, and Trade, as well as the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State branch.
According to Oresanya, the reason for the compliance exercise was to rectify environmental violations found in their production processes.
These violations contradicted their previous certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which led to a cholera outbreak and fatalities.
Oresanya stated that in order to strengthen and domesticate NAFDAC certification throughout all 20 councils, the state government would carry out the compliance process.
“Among other things, the team will demand routine microbial analysis results of their products, check the distance between their septic tanks and production boreholes, as well as their operational environment and the medical certificate of fitness of their products for human consumption,” he stated.
According to Oresanya, the compliance exercise would address hygienic and environmental violations found in their production processes.
This is in contrast to their previous NAFDAC accreditation, which led to a cholera outbreak that left some people hospitalized and claimed lives.
Oresanya stated that the state government, in its capacity as a responsible government, would carry out the compliance exercise to uphold and domesticate its NAFDAC certification in each of the state’s 20 councils. The team would then visit each factory that produces water to conduct an on-site assessment of their production processes.
The team will, among other things, request the results of their routine microbiological analyses of their products, measure the separation between their production boreholes and septic tanks, inspect their working environment, and obtain a medical certificate certifying that their products are fit for human consumption.
In the interest of the public, he continued, “all registered and unregistered water producing factories will be visited. If any of them fail the compliance exercise, they will be shut down and will remain closed until they pass the established procedures before they are opened for business.”
Oresanya, for this reason, urged them to back the compliance exercise since the state government is not trying to persecute any of them, but rather to protect the public’s health from avoidable waterborne illnesses and establish a healthy standard for their products, which have suffered from unfavorable public perception following the an outbreak.
In response, Mr. Femi Olukoga, the Chairman of the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, pledged the support of his members for the exercise, stating that it will aid the organization in purging quacks whose actions are detrimental to the state’s citizens’ well-being.
