*Kwara Must Change raises alarm over expired soft drinks in circulation*

_As Convener consumes expired Fayrouz_

Kwara's leading Pro-Democracy group, Kwara Must Change has raised an alarm over expired soft drinks now in circulation in ilorin, the Kwara State Capital.

The group also said that, Kwara State government must take urgent steps to hold producers of soft drink products responsible, so as to not only safeguard public health, but to also guarantee responsible business practices.

In a statement by Convener of Kwara Must Change, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the group explained that, on Tuesday, 28th December, 2021, around 1 pm, Convener of Kwara Must Change, Abdulrazaq Hamzat and other associates who visited Ilorin Museum in GRA area, were served expired Fayrouz drink, which was consumed by two people, before realizing it was an expired product.

According to Hamzat, "we ordered for drinks, amongst which include Fayrouz soft drink at the ilorin museum and it was brought to us well sealed and intact. The attendant, who brought the drink helped in opening all the drinks right before us and everyone started drinking.

"But immediately I took a sip of the Fayrouz served to me, I knew instantly that something was wrong with the drink. Hamzat said .

He explained that, the drink tested salty, more like agbo (herb), a trado medical concortion usually sold by trado medical practitioners to cure various illnesses, but the difference here is that, this is Fayrouz drink, not herbs, and rather than cure any illness, would rather cause one and disrupt the body system.

"I instantly raised alarm about my observation, but others thought it was the normal taste, probably of a different flavour. But being a regular consumer of Fayrouz drink, I insisted this couldn't be a taste for another flavour.

"To understand my agitation, another member of the team, who is a staff of Kwara State polytechnics wanted to prove me wrong, he volunteered to taste my own drink and immediately he did, he came to the same conclusion as me and amplified the observation.

"We all agreed something was terribly wrong with the drink". He said.

In an effort to check the expiry date and to be sure we are not mistaken, closer observation was made on the drink abd it was discovered that the drink had not only expired, it contained dark and rotten particles, which were settled below the bottle.

The attention of the management of the museum bar was brought to the development and he apologized and instantly placed a call to the distributor of the product, who promised to get across today.

Fayrouz is the premium soft drink by Nigeria Bottling Company, launched in Nigeria in 2006.

Kwara Must Change is of the view that, government needs to step up supervision of consumable products, such as soft drinks in the society.

We are also waiting for the response of the company, to determine the next cause of action and the two individuals who tested the expired drink have gone to the hospital for examination.

Drink what you want to drink and be happy. Stop complaining.