Cholera Outbreak: Ogun To Shut Down Table, Sachet Water Factories That Fail Compliance Test

Following the outbreak of cholera in some parts of Ogun State, the government has said it would carry out compliance exercises on all table and sachet water factories in the state.

Recall that the state has recorded about 250 cases of cholera in Ijebu North, Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North LGAs of the state. Out of the 250 cases, there have been 12 deaths.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Ola Oresanya, made the disclosure during a stakeholders meeting with the Table Water and Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria held in Abeokuta.

Oresanya stated that the compliance exercise became necessary to address the environmental and hygienic negligence observed in their production processes.

According to Oresanya, the exercise is to reinforce and domesticate the factories’ National Agency For Food And Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) certification in all the 20 local government areas of the state, adding that officials would move to all water producing factories “for on the spot assessment of their production processes.”

The commissioner said: “The team will among others demand for routine microbial analysis results of their products, check the distance of their production boreholes to their and septic tanks, their operational environment as well as medical certificate of fitness of their products for human consumption.

“For clarity all registered and unregistered water producing factories will be visited and any one of them that fail the compliance exercise will be shut and will remain so until it passes the laid down procedures before it is opened for business in the public interest.”

While calling for support of all the stakeholders, Oresanya noted that the state government “is not out to witch hunt any of them but safeguard the health of its residents from preventable water borne diseases as well set a healthy standard for their products which have suffered from negative public acceptance in the aftermath of the outbreak of the disease.”

Speaking on behalf of its members, the Chairman of the Table Water And Beverages Producers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter, Femi Olukoga assured of his members’ support for the exercise.