As part of efforts to assure the integrity of food and beverage products available to Edo residents during the Yuletide, Edo State Government has raided and seized substandard and adulterated goods in markets in Benin City, the state capital.
The government said the raid was carried out to prevent the flooding of markets with substandard products, especially food and beverages.
Addressing journalists in his office after the exercise, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Cooperatives and Employment, Hon. Emmanuel Usoh, said the raids were carried out to curb activities of traders, who in the quest to make quick gains, sell substandard products to consumers during the festive season.
He said, “the state government is carrying out the exercise to ensure that consumers of food items and beverages in the state are not exposed to harmful products.
“As a government, our duty is to prevent sharp practices among traders who want to make quick gains to the detriment of consumers. We have resolved to ensure that shoppers are not in any way exposed to fake and expired products.”
He added that some of the seized items include rice and vegetable oil, which expired in 2010, and counterfeit red wine and drinks. Other seized products, according to him, are adulterated imported and locally manufactured drinks.
Usoh, however, warned shoppers to be on the look-out for expired and fake products that pose threat to their health, adding, “we don’t want people who are making plans to celebrate the Yuletide to be exposed to food products and drinks that will be hazardous to their health.”
The Commissioner also disclosed that traders from whom expired and fake products were seized had their stores shut-down by the ministry to ensure that the state is safe from unwholesome food and drink products.
