SON burst syndicate repackaging expired products

Men of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, following a tip-off, raided about eight flats where all sorts of cosmetics and household consumables which have expired many years ago are repackaged for sale.

SON Director of Monitoring & Compliance, Engr. Bede Obayi, who conducted news men round the building where the expired products are being repackaged, said: “We acted on the intelligence we received from well-meaning Nigerians. You can see the volume of expired products here and imagine the implication for our society in terms of health issues.

Continuing, he added that; “When somebody buys expired cream, what does it show? You are applying cream that the active ingredient has gone and that may cause reactions on the skin.

“More importantly, you are dealing with products that children use. Look at baby diapers that expired in 2015. Imagine what a product that expired in 2015 will do to a baby if used in 2017.”

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Obayi confirmed that most of the products are popular brands imported into the country, adding “perhaps they went overseas to buy these products that are close to their expiry dates and shipped them down here, because they have ready markets where people can buy.

“This four-storey building of eight flats with the toilets, bathrooms and all available spaces filled with expired products. That tells you the enormity of the crime this person is committing.

“Look at this wrapper for disinfectant. What they do is to pick the expired ones and use this wrapper with new expiry dates to wrap it. When you have the old products inside this wrap that carries 2018 as expiry date, you will not know you are buying cloned products. The products have lost their active ingredients and efficacy.”

The SON Director of Monitoring & Compliance also informed that the importer tried to whip up an alibi claiming that he was waiting to destroy the products but according to Obayi “we have seen here is a dubious warehouse or hideout where people are churning out expired products for the markets.”

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