GUINNESS - N1bn Fine Issue As Guinness Refuses Claims That NAFDAC Found Rodents in its Factory

Guinness Nigeria Plc has stated that no rodent was found in its factory by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The company stated this while reiterating its commitment to continuously deliver quality products through the application of the highest standards of good manufacturing practice. The company apparently is reacting to what, it said,

were misrepresentations by some scholars of the facts in the issue relating to the alleged infractions in its rented off-site warehouse.

NAN reports that the matter is between Guinness and NAFDAC which had written it on the alleged infractions. NAFDAC had reportedly, communicated to Guinness the infractions and fined it N1billion, a fact the company had admitted. A statement by the Corporate Relations Director, Mr Sesan Sobowale, said on Thursday in Lagos that the alleged infractions were related to a rented off-site warehouse where raw materials are stored.

“The said raw materials store is not a production facility or a factory and the quality of Guinness Nigeria products was never in issue.

“NAFDAC insists that its authorisation is required before we can carry out the destruction of expired raw materials or indeed in the process of approval of new best before date by the manufacturers of these raw materials.

“And we were in the process of engaging NAFDAC for clarifications and resolution of the issues before the private correspondence from NAFDAC to Guinness Nigeria was clandestinely passed to a journalist,” it said.

The statement added: “Secondly, there was nowhere in the correspondence from NAFDAC to Guinness Nigeria where it was stated that “during inspection they found rodents in the factory.

“This is a false claim and an erroneous misrepresentation. Besides, Guinness Nigeria has always maintained and upheld best manufacturing standards and practices in all its operations.

“This is attested to by the numerous compliant practices certifications the company has received over the years, including from NAFDAC as recently as on December 5, 2014.

“Then, NAFDAC awarded the company with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Certificate for all of its products,” the statement said, putting the records straight.

“Thirdly, it is also patently false and misleading that ‘the problem is on finished products that were expired and Guinness were revalidating and recycling the product to the market’.

“As earlier stated, the issue in view is ‘raw materials’ and not ‘finished or expired products.

“Guinness Nigeria Plc has enjoyed a cordial relationship with NAFADC over the years and this is largely attributable to the agency’s satisfaction that Guinness is a law abiding and responsible organisation that is committed to compliance to quality and extant regulations.”

It noted that the over-riding objective, according to the Managing Director, Mr Peter Ndegwa, was to avail customers of world-class products and value for money.

“In so doing, Guinness will continue to maintain and improve the quality and efficiency that it has established in over 60 years of operations in Nigeria,” the statement said.

It recalled that at a media interactive session in Lagos on Nov. 13, Ndegwa had said the company consistently improved on the manufacturing process to “ensure that the quality of our products is top notch”.

“Continuous improvement in quality will remain a constant pursuit by the company.

“We take our responsibility to deliver quality products seriously.

“The meticulous and painstaking work, including rigorous quality assurance that precedes the final production of all our products, has a singular objective.

“To ensure that our consumers drink products that are healthy and comparable with similar products made by a Diageo facility anywhere else in the world.”

The statement quoted Ndegwa as saying that the company’s conformity to the highest standards of quality had enabled the repeated re-certification of its products and procedures by some of the world’s leading certification organisations. They include the International Standards Organisation (ISO) as well as the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

The company received the ISO 9002:1994 quality standard in 2001 becoming the first brewery in West Africa to be so honoured, it said. The statement also quoted Cephas Afebuameh, the Supply Chain Director for the company as explaining that there was an extensive and elaborate process by which basic raw materials are first converted during the brewing stage.

It said that there were lots of critical control points, before the products were bottled and released to the market.

“Each of these painstaking steps is rigorously monitored for conformity with all necessary global standards which we regard as basic, as we always aspire to exceed the much higher standards that have been set internally by the Diageo Group.”

The statement reaffirmed that Guinness Nigeria was very positive that on account of its ongoing engagement with NAFDAC, the issues would be clarified and resolved in a short while.

Guinness Nigeria established its first brewery in Ikeja, Lagos in 1962. Since then it has remained an integral player in Nigeria’s manufacturing space, opening up more breweries in Benin City and Aba respectively. The company had severally been commended for its contributions to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.