The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has destroyed expired sugar and a variety of other substandard consumables valued at approximately \text{N}25 million. The action, taken in Kaduna, is part of SON’s vigorous, ongoing campaign to protect public health and enforce strict product quality compliance across the nation.
The destruction exercise was carried out on Friday at a designated site outside the Kaduna metropolis. The disposed items, which were seized during recent enforcement operations in the North-West region, included 230 bags of expired sugar as well as soft drinks, milk, tomato pastes, and insecticides that failed mandatory safety and quality tests.
Mr. Adamu Ahmed, Deputy Director, North-West Region of SON, emphasized that the destruction was a necessary measure to prevent hazardous products from reaching the market and endangering consumers.
”We are here today to destroy substandard products that did not comply with required standards,” Ahmed stated. “Their destruction ensures consumers do not unknowingly use items that could endanger their health.”
He confirmed that laboratory tests had confirmed all the 230 bags of sugar were expired and unsafe for consumption.
Sending a Strong Message to Non-Compliant Traders.
Ahmed stressed that the public destruction serves as a clear warning to those dealing in substandard products. “This destruction sends a strong message to manufacturers, importers, and distributors that we will not compromise on quality. These substandard products pose a clear danger to consumers,” he asserted.
The confiscation and subsequent destruction, he explained, are direct outcomes of SON’s rigorous conformity assessment process, designed to proactively identify and eliminate health risks in consumer goods before they can harm the public.
SON’s consistent enforcement aims to build consumer trust and ensure only safe, quality-assured products are available in the Nigerian market. Ahmed commended compliant manufacturers and importers while strongly urging others to follow national standards to support a safer and more competitive marketplace.
”This destruction serves as a warning to those dealing in substandard goods. We will not relent in ensuring full compliance with quality specifications,” Ahmed concluded.
Intensified Nationwide Crackdown
This exercise is one of many recent actions by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria. Early this year, the agency intensified its nationwide crackdown on counterfeit and substandard goods, confiscating fake products worth over {N}20 billion across several sectors, including:
LPG gas cylinders, Tyres, Cables, Aluminium roofing sheets, Lubricants.
In these operations, SON has also publicly “named and shamed” manufacturers and importers involved in substandard practices. In a separate seizure, SON confiscated fake electrical cables and wires worth \text{N}30.5 million in Ekiti State after intelligence revealed vendors were selling cloned brands to unsuspecting buyers.
