So a few weeks ago, the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), makers of Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Limca, Eva water, Five Alive, Monster Energy drink, hosted Kemi Filani Blog and some other bloggers on a tour around its productive factory at Lateef Jakande Rd, Oba Akran, Ikeja.
The tour was an opportunity to see how these drinks are made so as to confidently advise KFB readers to continue consuming these drinks in crates.
The tour happened after a press conference that addressed misconceptions concerning Coca Cola products.
- If Coca-cola drinks made in Nigeria are safe to drink
- If a bottle of Coca-Cola actually contains ‘100 cubes of sugar’
- If Coca-Cola drinks can be taken with drugs
One of the issues addressed at the intense Questions and Answers session with the Nigerian Bottling Company officials was the ‘sugar in coke’ and it was clarified thus:
“Coca-Cola contains sugar from sugar cane. The cane sugar is the same as you would buy in a supermarket to use at home in cooking, in your tea and coffee or in other drinks. Coca-Cola Classic contains 27g of sugar per 35cl. While sugar in moderation is fine, too much sugar isn’t good for anyone.”
Oh by the way, if you’re looking for reduced- or no-sugar options, you can try these alternatives of Coca-Cola, that is, Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar which both have zero sugar and zero calories and are each made with their own unique blend of flavors.
The misconception on if Coca‑Cola products manufactured in Nigeria safe for consumption:
Yes, the Coca‑Cola products manufactured in Nigeria are safe for consumption in view of the following reasons:
- Risk assessment was conducted to ascertain maximum limits of food additives acceptable in foods.
This takes into consideration the environmental, storage and distribution conditions as well as the shelf life of food products. - NAFDAC and SON regularly monitor the manufacturing practices of Food industries and conduct laboratory analysis to ascertain continuous compliance with required national standards.
There was a routine inspection conducted at Nigeria Bottling Company by NAFDAC officers in December, 2016 which was satisfactory.
Nigerian Bottling Company is a bottling partner of The Coca‑Cola Company, that is, the Coca‑Cola Company manufactures and sells concentrates, bases and syrups to Nigerian Bottling Company, which in turn, uses the concentrates and syrups to manufacture, package, merchandise and distribute the final branded products to their trade partners and consumers.
It sells more than 2 billion unit cases every year to approximately 180 million Nigerian people.
Some of the drinks it makes:
- Sparkling drinks: NBC claims they are the number one supplier of sparkling soft drinks in Nigeria. They offer a choice of sugared, low sugar and sugar-free sparkling soft drinks in a diverse range of packaging to match people’s lifestyles.
- Still drinks: Still beverages are drinks that have not been subjected to carbonation. These include NBC’s five variants of the Five Alive juice brand in Nigeria, their Monster energy drinks, Ready to Drink coffee and tea. NBC claims they are the number one, top branded supplier of diverse flavors of juices in Nigeria. And are the number two branded supplier of energy drinks in Nigeria
- Water – Water is vital to the health of all humans. NBC offers Eva water, a processed water brand, which is subjected to filtering and purification treatments before being bottled. Eva is compliant with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and is available in 75cl and 1.5l PET bottles. I was wowed during our meeting with the Nigerian Bottling Company when they said they are hoping to beat Natural water and become the number one supplier of water in the world.
Unarguably, the NBC remains the Number one maker of beverages in Nigeria and Africa.
