The Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) said it has withdrawn two batches of 75cl Eva Table Water produced between May 22 and 23 at its Asejire Plant in Ibadan, Oyo State due to public complaints of impurity in the water.

According to NBC, it reported a change in colour of the product from colourless to light green in the batch and presence of particles to NAFDAC on June 20, 2019.

Following the NBC alert to NAFDAC, the regulatory agency issued a public alert on Friday, in a statement labeled ‘Public Alert No. 0011/2019. Recall of Eva Premium Table Water 75cl due to Change in Colour and Presence of Particles.’

The statement further said that “NAFDAC has directed the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited to recall Eva Premium Table Water 75cl as a precautionary step pending investigation by the agency.

“The company voluntarily reported to NAFDAC on June 20, 2019, a change in colour of the product from colourless to light green and presence of particles in two lots,” the statement read.

Eva Premium Table water is one of Nigeria’s popular brand of bottled water and owned by Coca-Cola.

The NAFDAC statement further said the production of Eva Table Water 75cl at the Ibadan plant has been suspended pending the outcome of investigation being conducted by the Agency. The agency advised distributors, wholesalers and retailers to immediately stop the distribution and sale of the affected Eva Premium Table Water 75cl and to return the batch of the affected product in their possession to the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, Asejire, Ibadan, Oyo State.

In a statement issued by the NBC Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Ekuma Eze, it said that, “The Nigerian Bottling Company is aware of the Public Alert No. 0011/2019 issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

“As noted in the alert, on 20th of June 2019, NBC voluntarily notified NAFDAC of two batches of Eva Water (75cl) produced from May 22-23, 2019 in our Asejire Plant, which did not meet our quality standards.

“We had commenced the withdrawal of the affected batches which are 220519.14.27 AC4 and 230519.15.15 AC4, prior to the NAFDAC announcement and are cooperating with the agency in their investigation.

“We regret the inconvenience this issue may have caused our consumers, and we request consumers in possession of products with the stated batch numbers to return them to our nearest offices or distributors/dealers for replacement.”

NBC, however, assured consumers that there were no issues with other batches of Eva Water, adding, “We reassure our consumers of our commitment to highest quality standards, product safety and consumer satisfaction.”