NEWS
NAFDAC Orders Nationwide Recall of Banned Sachet and Small-Pack Alcoholic Drinks, Warns Defaulters of Severe Sanctions
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on prohibited alcoholic beverages, ordering manufacturers to immediately commence the recall of all alcoholic drinks packaged in sachets and PET or plastic bottles below 200ml.
The sweeping directive marks a major phase in the agency’s full-scale enforcement of the ban, which officially took effect on January 1, 2026. Manufacturers and companies that fail to comply have been warned to expect stiff regulatory and punitive measures.
Under the new enforcement regime, all prohibited products returned from the market will be properly inventoried and destroyed under the direct supervision of NAFDAC. The affected manufacturers will bear the full financial cost of the recall and destruction exercise.
NAFDAC Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, said the decisive action followed the signing of an Irrevocable Enforcement Undertaking by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), and their member companies.
The ban is rooted in longstanding concerns over the growing availability and accessibility of high-alcohol-content beverages in small, cheap and easily concealed packages. Concerns about the proliferation of such products were first raised in 2018, particularly because of the ease with which children and young persons could access them.
With the expiration of the transition period, NAFDAC has now moved beyond warnings and phased implementation to full enforcement across the country.
The agency initially began its enforcement drive at manufacturing facilities before expanding the operation into a nationwide mop-up exercise. Markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and distribution centres are now among the major targets as authorities move to remove the prohibited products from circulation.
Manufacturers whose facilities were sealed for producing alcoholic beverages in the banned pack sizes have also been placed under strict conditions before they can resume operations.
Such companies “must verify the dismantling, permanent disabling or reconfiguration of production lines used for prohibited pack sizes” and satisfy all applicable regulatory requirements before their facilities can be considered for reopening.
NAFDAC warned that companies unwilling to meet the new standards could face prolonged closure and even more serious consequences. These may include placement on the agency’s Regulatory Watchlist, suspension or revocation of product registrations, investigative charges and other regulatory or legal sanctions.
The agency also addressed public claims suggesting that the policy was selective, insisting that the enforcement action is driven by public health concerns and applies across the affected industry.
According to the NAFDAC Director-General, the central objective is to reduce the easy accessibility of high-alcohol-content products, especially among children and young people, while tackling the wider social and health consequences associated with harmful alcohol consumption.
“The Agency remains committed to working with compliant industry stakeholders while ensuring strict adherence to the ban,” she said.
With the nationwide recall now underway and enforcement operations expected to intensify across production and distribution channels, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other stakeholders dealing in the prohibited pack sizes face a clear choice: comply with the law or face the full weight of NAFDAC’s regulatory sanctions.