LASCOPA urges CWAY to enhance bottled water handling and distribution

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has urged CWAY to improve how it handles, stores, and distributes its bottled water. This came after officials inspected the company's production facility.

The inspection followed a viral video on social media and complaints about CWAY's products, according to TVC News on Thursday.

LASCOPA officials looked at the production line, including the filling, capping, and labeling of bottles. They also checked how finished products were prepared, transported, and stored before sending them out.

During the inspection, officials discovered plastic bottles set aside for disposal because they were not suitable for use.

CWAY explained to the officials that the discarded bottles go through a grinding machine and are sold to plastic industries as raw materials. The inspection report noted that about 1,000 bottles are thrown out each day.

LASCOPA’s recommendations

LASCOPA’s Director of Scientific Investigation, Research and Development, Suluka Raheem, urged CWAY to ensure its packaging materials are cleaned and maintained properly. He also suggested adding suitable handles to the bottles to make them easier to hold and to reduce slipping.

Mr Raheem recommended that CWAY set a shelf life for its bottles. He said, "after which they should be withdrawn from circulation, whether damaged or not."

He also encouraged CWAY to train its distributors on how to handle and store its products properly. This includes keeping the bottles away from direct sunlight during transport.

LASCOPA’s Board Secretary and Head of Legal, Arinola Momoh-Ayokanmbi, who represented the agency's General Manager, Afolabi Solebo, asked CWAY to follow international standards for transporting, distributing, and storing its products.

"CWAY should adopt internationally recognised standards for the transportation, distribution, and storage of its products," she said. She also asked the company to fix the issues found during the inspection and implement the agency's recommendations.

NAFDAC requirements

This inspection comes during a time when there are national rules about producing and selling packaged water in Nigeria. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has guidelines for packaged-water facilities, which include packaging material stores, production rooms, and finished product stores. These guidelines also include hygiene measures to prevent contamination during production and storage.

NAFDAC monitors the labeling of bottled water in Nigeria and stops any that have false, misleading, or deceptive descriptions regarding a product’s character, quality, quantity, or origin.

The TVC report did not mention that LASCOPA found CWAY's water to be contaminated or unsafe to drink. It also did not point out any specific violation of NAFDAC’s labeling rules by the company.

LASCOPA said that the inspection aimed to assess the safety of products available to consumers in Lagos and to protect their health, safety, and interests.