NAFDAC's statement sidesteps the issue of how FFMP is sold and advertised as milk when it does not contain the original milk fat, an essential ingredient of milk.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration says Fat-Filled Milk Powder (FFMP) is "recognised" and approved for consumption in Nigeria. However, the agency did not address how the product has been misleadingly sold and advertised to Nigerians as milk.
The agency stated this on Thursday in response to a PREMIUM TIMES investigation on the dominance of FFMP in the Nigerian dairy market.
The investigation titled 'Milk or mimic: Nigeria's dairy market flooded with inferior product' revealed that FFMP, which is produced by blending skimmed milk powder with vegetable fat, is presented as milk, although it is only considered to be a milk alternative or product.
In a statement, the agency stated that fat-filled milk is identified in the 2021 Milk and Dairy Product Regulations for Nigeria alongside different types of milk such as Whole Milk Powder and Skimmed Milk.
"Filled milk is described as a blend of skimmed milk and non-fat milk (vegetable fat)," NAFDAC said.
It added, "The Codex Alimentarius Commission, a recognised, international Food Standards setting Body, has, in its collection of published standards, the 'Standard For a Blend of Skimmed Milk and Vegetable Fat in Powdered Form' intended for direct consumption or further processing."
NAFDAC also said it will "continue to carry out her mandate in the best interest of the public and will not register products for use in Nigeria without due regulatory diligence in our bid to safeguard the health of the public."
The agency only chose to address a point that is not in dispute - that FFMP is recognised in the national regulation is not in doubt, and the PREMIUM TIMES report stressed the point.
However, the issue raised in the report, which NAFDAC did not address, is how FFMP is sold and advertised as milk when it does not contain the original milk fat, an essential ingredient.
According to the report, milk fat is replaced with vegetable fat, often sourced from palm or coconut oil.
Our findings
FFMP is a cheap milk substitute that has been exported to Nigeria and other West African countries continuously for years. We found continuous export of FFMP from Ireland into the region, with Nigeria as one of its largest markets.
Our investigation showed that, in Europe, many of the products are not manufactured, categorised or sold as milk. In these countries, they are sold to business owners who use them solely to produce other dairy products such as yoghurt, cheese and Ice cream.
For the investigation, PREMIUM wrote to the EU Commission Press Officer for Agriculture spokesperson services, Thérèse Lerebours, who disclosed that FFMP is referred to as fat-filled powder in the EU, excluding the 'M' because it lacks the essential milk compositions and, as such, cannot be described as one.
However, according to the NAFDAC statement, FFMP is recognised in Nigeria without providing further details.
Contrasting food standards
This implies that Nigeria's food standard differs substantially from the EU's.
This is not the first time NAFDAC's standard has strikingly contrasted EU's.
In April, an investigation revealed that Nestle, a multinational food and beverage company, had sent substandard infant food products to Nigeria.
According to the report, samples of Nido and Cerelac from Nigeria and other low-income countries were sent to Belgium for laboratory tests. The result showed that Nestle was adding sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold to Nigeria contrary to international guidelines.
Cerelac from Nigeria had the second-highest sugar content of the products tested, with 6.8g per serving.
While responding to this, NAFDAC said its standard permits adding a specified quantity of glucose, syrup or honey in cereal-based foods for infants and young children.
NAFDAC said the country's food standard, guided by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and, more specifically, the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS), sets the criteria for processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children.
She said the standards "permit the addition of sucrose, fructose, glucose, glucose syrup or honey to products consisting of cereals which are or have to be prepared for consumption with milk or other appropriate nutritious liquids."
Not advertised as an alternative
Meanwhile, NAFDAC DG Moji Adeyeye earlier told PREMIUM TIMES that FFMP is not considered to be milk but milk alternatives or products.
"FFMP products are not categorised as milk in the same way as whole milk powder or skimmed milk powder," she said.
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However, we found that FFMP is not advertised or presented to the public as an alternative to milk.
The report said consumers are unaware of the range of milk powders and how they differ. Most consumers do not know instant-filled powder as an alternative milk or milk product as it is not advertised as such.
"What is unknown to the vast section of Nigerian consumers is that in Europe, where most of these products are manufactured, they are not classified as milk. Same in Nigeria where the regulator said FFMP products are not categorised as milk in the same way as whole milk powder or skimmed milk powder," the report read in part.
Also, we found widespread misinformation about FFMP in the country, especially among traders.
We reported that some traders consider FFMP good for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Others believe it was made specifically for children.
"Some of the traders believe that FFMP, unlike Whole Milk Powder (WMP), has zero fat content. Some others said FFMP was originally meant for children but became accepted and consumed by adults as the cost of dairy products skyrocketed due to the country's inflation.
"But the fat content claim is not true," the report found.
