The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclaimed a viral audio indicating that it has shut down the manufacturing facility of Tummy Tummy noodles in Anambra State and imposed a ban on tinned tomatoes and Maggi seasoning cubes, saying the audio is fake.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement on Wednesday, maintained that the audio voiced by a man had been in circulation since 2023, and debunked its contents in its entirety.
Adeyeye stated that findings from investigations undertaken by the agency when the audio first circulated, showed that there was no presence of ethylene oxide or its derivative in the noodles and seasoning neither was tin tomatoes and Maggi cube seasoning banned as alleged by the audio.
She clarified: “NAFDAC categorically disclaims the contents of this recording and dissociates herself from it in its entirety.
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“The claims made in the recording are entirely false. The Tummy Tummy noodles facility in Anambra State was not sealed”, Adeyeye added.
She recalled that the agency had conducted an unscheduled inspection of the facility, during which samples of four different noodle variants were collected and analysed at the agency’s Agulu laboratory, stressing that “the results were satisfactory, and no regulatory violations were found.”
On the alleged banning of other food products such as tinned tomatoes and seasoning cubes like Maggi by the agency, the Director-General maintained that the claim in the audio was false
She said: “This is completely untrue. The individual who made these claims also falsely stated they were working in collaboration with NAFDAC and mentioned the presence of ‘acetyl methyl’ as a preservative, an assertion that is both unfounded and misleading.”
Disabusing consumers’ minds about the safety of the products Adeyeye recalled that NAFDAC had already conducted a comprehensive investigation in 2023 following global alerts about the presence of ethylene oxide in instant noodles and that the findings confirmed that neither ethylene oxide nor its derivatives were present in any instant noodles or seasonings produced in the country.
In addition, agency’s Director-General stated that tests for contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals showed levels well within internationally accepted safety standards, reaffirming the safety of Nigerian-made noodles.
She clarified: “NAFDAC urged the public to disregard the audio and refrain from sharing unverified information.
“NAFDAC remains committed to its mandate of safeguarding public health by ensuring that only safe, high-quality, and properly regulated food and drug products are available to Nigerians”, Adeyeye added.
