NAFDAC has issued a public alert over counterfeit and unregistered Cerelac Mixed Fruits and Wheat products discovered in Lagos. The agency reported that Nestle Nigeria Plc, the legitimate Marketing Authorisation Holder, received a complaint about a suspected fake product allegedly manufactured by Nestlé Spain and bearing Batch Code 308002910. The complainant noted a fuel-like odour from the product, prompting an investigation. Preliminary analysis by Nestle Nigeria showed the product had expired despite displaying an expiry date of 10-2026, indicating the date had been tampered with.
NAFDAC's Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate conducted a raid at Maxland Shopping Centre, 193 Ago Palace, Okota, where the suspect product was found and seized. Nestle Nigeria confirmed that the counterfeit used a hyphen (-) to separate day and year on packaging, while genuine products use a slash (/). The agency warned that fake infant formula may lack vital nutrients or contain harmful contaminants, risking stunted growth, severe health issues, or death in infants. NAFDAC advised the public to report suspicious products to its office, call 0800-162-3322, or email [email protected].
A fuel-smelling infant cereal with a falsified expiry date made it onto Lagos shelves, exposing how deeply counterfeit goods have infiltrated basic food supply chains. NAFDAC's discovery at Maxland Shopping Centre reveals that even well-known brands like Cerelac are being convincingly replicated, with dangerous consequences. The fact that batch verification now depends on punctuation marks — a hyphen versus a slash — shows how technical the fraud has become, and how ill-equipped average consumers are to detect it. This seizure is one win, but the broader network feeding fake products into Nigeria remains largely untouched.
