In an effort to uncover the underlying causes of the recent cholera outbreak in select local government areas and to avert future occurrences, the Ogun State government will conduct a compliance inspection of all table and sachet water factories within the state…CONTINUE READING....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
This decision was communicated by Mr. Ola Oresanya, the State Commissioner for Environment, during a stakeholder meeting attended by members of the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria.
Ogun State chapter, and officials from the Ministries of Environment, Health, Industries, Trade, and Investment. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Environment Conference Room in the State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Oresanya emphasized the necessity of the compliance inspection, as it was prompted by environmental and hygiene-related lapses identified in the production processes of these factories. These deficiencies were discovered to be in contrast to their earlier certification by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which ultimately resulted in the cholera outbreak, claiming lives and necessitating hospitalization of affected individuals.
As a responsible government, Oresanya stated that the state government will now carry out the compliance exercise to reinforce and align with their NAFDAC certification in all twenty local government areas within the state.
The inspection team will visit all water production factories for real-time assessments of their production processes.
The inspection team will request routine microbial analysis results of their products, assess the proximity of their production boreholes to septic tanks, evaluate their operational environment, and request medical certificates of fitness for their products intended for human consumption.
For clarification, all registered and unregistered water production factories will undergo inspection. Any factory failing to meet the compliance requirements will be temporarily closed and will remain so until it successfully satisfies the prescribed procedures before resuming operations in the best interests of public health.
Oresanya urged table and sachet water producers to cooperate with the compliance exercise. The state government’s aim is not to target any specific producer but to safeguard the health of its citizens from preventable waterborne diseases.
The exercise also aims to establish a healthy standard for these products, which have faced public distrust following the cholera outbreak.
In response, the Chairman of the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter, Mr. Femi Olukoga, assured his members’ support for the compliance exercise.
He believed that it would help the organization purify its ranks and eliminate unqualified practitioners whose actions jeopardize the well-being of the state’s residents.
