Coca-Cola Europe Recall: “There is no cause for alarm in Nigeria” – NAFDAC

On Monday, the European bottling unit of Coca-Cola ordered a major recall of Coke, Sprite and other beverages with production in major European countries especially Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands after detecting high levels of chlorate, which poses potential health risks.

Chlorate can be produced when chlorine-based disinfectants are used in water treatment and food processing. Coca-Cola said it had not received any consumer complaints in Great Britain, and that it had “alerted the authorities on this matter and will continue to collaborate with them.”
Affected products include the Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Tropico and Minute Maid brands, according to the Belgium branch of Coca-Cola’s international bottling and distribution operation.

Is it safe to drink Coca-Cola in Nigeria today?

In an interview with LN247, Christiana Obiazikwor, spokesperson of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) assured that there isn’t any “cause for alarm”.
According to Obiazikwor, “people should not be worried, NAFDAC is working to safe guard your health, no one is killing you, there shouldn’t be any worries from anywhere”.

She said NAFDAC is not resting on its oars in sanitising Nigeria’s food and beverage sector and ensuring that fake drinks find no place in the society.
“We are serious about it, we are discovering hide outs where fake drinks are being manufactured, and destroying them to safeguard the health of the nation”.