The House of Representatives on Wednesday directed the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, makers of Coca-Cola soft drinks, as well as other producers of carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks sold in Nigeria to as from January 2019, print expiry dates on all their products.
The bottling company was also directed to print labels on Fanta and Sprite drinks, warning that the products were harmful when consumed with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).
The Nigerian Bottling Company (“NBC”), bottlers of the famed Coca-Cola products in Nigeria suffered a legal setback in its bid to stop the execution of a judgement by a Lagos High Court which declared Fanta and Sprite to be poisonous soft drinks when consumed with vitamin C.
In a judgement delivered on February 15, a Lagos High Court dismissed all claims against the NBC and held that the company had not breached its duty of care to consumers and that there was no proven case of negligence against it.
A Lagos High court in Igbosere, on Monday ordered the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to compel the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (“NBC”), producers of Fanta and Sprite soft drinks to include health warnings on its label which says that the drinks cannot be taken with Vitamin C.
According to a report in The Nation Newspaper, Justice Adedayo Oyebanji made the order while delivering a judgement on a case brought before it by a Lagos businessman, Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo of Fijabi Adebo Holdings Ltd against NBC and NAFDAC.
Maltina, a malt drink from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc has received an endorsement from the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN).
The Non-governmental Association said that it was giving the malt drink a stamp of quality because the product quality has been consistent for 39 years and the product is rich in nutrients, specifically calcium and vitamin A.
