Claim: Manufacturers of two herbal products, Madam F Kayes Bitters and Asheitu Adam’s Bitter, have licence numbers purporting to have been approved by Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Verdict: False! The licence numbers were rather assigned to other products by the regulatory agency.
Pictures of the two products, Madam F Kayes Bitters Blood Purifying Tonic and Asheitu Adam’s Bitter Blood Purifier, showing their labels and supposed NAFDAC numbers
Full Text
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is a statutory organisation that regulates the manufacture, importation, exportation, and distribution of food and drugs in Nigeria.
As part of its approval processes, NAFDAC assigns an eight-digit number (including letters) to all its products. Every NAFDAC number is unique to a certified product.
Over the last couple of weeks, DUBAWA has cited two products with questionable credentials.
The first is Madam F Kayes Bitters, a branded herbal product sold in Nigeria. The label on one of the bottles states that it was manufactured in January 2025 and expires in December 2028. It has a NAFDAC number A7-2719L.
According to the product’s label and the marketers, it is a blood-purifying tonic. It is said to cure about 15 different ailments. Those listed on the product include hypertension, gonorrhoea, stomach problems, sexual weakness, poor eyesight, worms, diabetes, menopausal problems, piles, fibroid, fever, waist pains, menstrual pains, barrenness, and rheumatism.
The label also says it is produced and marketed by Rebak Natural Healthcare. The company’s address was not provided.
A similar product, Asheitu Adam’s Bitter, is also sold in Nigeria as a “100% herbal” blood purifier.
According to its label, it originated from Ghana and is manufactured by Asheitu Adams Enterprises. However, only a Nigerian address was provided: 2 Babatunde Adetoro Street, Off Old Abeokuta Motor Road, by Mobil Station, Agege, Lagos. There were two customer care lines: a Nigerian phone line and a Ghanaian phone number.
The product label says it treats the following ailments: asthma, pregnancy disorders, headache, hypertension, gonorrhoea, stomach problems, sexual weakness, poor eyesight, worms, diabetes, menopausal problems, piles, fibroids, fever, waist pains, menstrual pains, barrenness, and rheumatism.
The product label said it was manufactured on December 1, 2024, and will expire on November 1, 2027, while its NAFDAC-approved number is A7-1827L.
Due to the questionable details, DUBAWA decided to verify the claims on the labels of the two drugs.
Verification
Using the NAFDAC product verification portal (NAPAMS | Home), we verified the authenticity of the two products by entering the supposed licence numbers.
For Madam F Kayes Bitter (A7-2719L), the details brought out revealed that the product with that approved number is DB Essential Balm, a relieving ointment also categorised as a herbal and nutraceutical product.
A screenshot from NAFDAC’s Automated Product Administration and Monitoring System (NAPAMS) showing that the number A7-2719L was assigned to a different product, DB ESSENTIAL BALM.
The portal also revealed that the product was imported and manufactured by Arya Aushadhi Pharma Mumbai PVT Limited, an India-based pharmaceutical company. It further disclosed that the licence was approved on April 7, 2022, and expired on April 6, 2024.
For Asheitu Adams Bitter (A7-1827L), the NAFDAC product verification portal showed that the product with the approved number is Greentol Cough Syrup. It was categorised as a herbal and nutraceutical product that is imported and produced by Ayushree Pharmaceuticals PVT Limited. The portal also disclosed that the product was approved on May 29, 2024, and the licence expired on May 28, 2026.
A screenshot from NAPAMS showing that the number, A7-1827L, was actually assigned to GREENTOL COUGH SYRUP.
Responding to a question from this reporter, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, spoke on the implications of two products sharing a NAFDAC number at a media briefing held in Lagos.
She said that when two products have the same number, the agency usually sanctions those involved.
“A company getting one NAFDAC number and using it [multiple times], that is a crime based on our own regulation, but we sanction them heavily,” said the agency’s Director-General.
“If you go on our website, we have a watchlist. If you cross our path too many times, and you are not repentant, we blacklist you. If there is an issue with a product that we are still investigating or working around, we put you on the watchlist; it is on our website. A company that has one NAFDAC number for more than one product doesn’t think of the customer, and the quality, safety, and efficacy are very likely compromised. So we take it very seriously.”
Conclusion
Based on the information available on the NAFDAC product verification portal, neither product was approved by the regulatory agency, and claims to the contrary are false. The information on the product labels contradicts what is on the official NAFDAC website.