Nigeria’s food and drugs regulatory body, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confirmed that the NIVEA Black & White Roll- On manufactured in Nigeria is safe for public use.

This is contained in the update it issued on its initial Safety Alert Notification of October 31, 2024, regarding NIVEA BLACK & WHITE Invisible Roll-on deodorant (50 ml) batch number 93529610, in relation to the general European Union (EU) Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products (RAPEX).

In the latest update on the issue on its website dated November 2, 2024, the agency confirmed the safety of the NIVEA BLACK & WHITE Invisible Roll-on deodorant (50 ml) manufactured in Nigeria.

“A recent investigation shows that the Black and White Nivea Roll-on deodorant manufactured in Nigeria does not contain the non-compliant ingredient (BMHCA)”, NAFDAC said in the updated alert notification.

It would be recalled that following the release of the notification by the agency, the manufacturers of the product, Beiersdorf, had issued a statement in which it assured its esteemed customers that the Batch No. 93529610 in question has not been marketed in Nigeria and thus was never recalled by Beiersdorf, the owner of NIVEA brand, as the legal manufacturer.

It added that the batch in question had, in fact, expired in January 2022 and was hence at the time fully compliant with the then valid European cosmetic regulation. The company also pointed out that based on current European legislation, the use of ingredient 2-(4-tert-Butylbenzyl propionaldehyde (LilialTM) in cosmetic products has been banned from the European markets as of March 1, 2022.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, Beiersdorf is working collaboratively with NAFDAC to safeguard the interest of the Nigerian consumers by ensuring that our locally manufactured product meets the global quality standards”, the company said, adding that the safety of its consumers remains its highest priority, consistent with its ethical philosophy as a business.

“In pursuit of this commitment, Beiersdorf’s entire NIVEA product portfolio formulations have been reformulated to be Lilial-free formulas in full compliance with the EU Regulation on cosmetic products well ahead of its Lilial ban coming into effect as far back as March 1, 2022. For instance, the formulation of NIVEA BLACK & WHITE Invisible Roll-on deodorant has been Lilial-free since at least 2020 across the globe, including Nigeria”, the company further said.

It said it had informed its trade partners ahead of time and reminded them of their responsibility to remove the outdated Lilial-containing products within the legal timeframe to fulfill their obligations with the European Cosmetic Product Regulation.