Operatives of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), on Wednesday, stormed four retail outlets and Daraju Industries Limited, a company they said was violating the agency’s regulation on detergent production in Ota, Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The SON officials led by the state coordinator, Engr Jerome Otene Umoru, told newsmen at the end of the exercise, that the products valued at N55 million were evacuated and quarantined because they contained phosphate, which is harmful to humans and the environment.

The SON coordinator added that the organisation had carried out analysis on 36 detergent products nationwide, and 14 were discovered to contain phosphate, hence, the enforcement exercise.

He said, “In 2018, manufacturing companies were told to stop using phosphate in the production of detergents but some of them are still using it. It has a lot of effects on human beings and the environment.

“Because they are still using it, we have been told to come evacuate it and stop further production.

“The health implication is that it leads to skin irritation. If you continue to use it, it causes cancer of the skin. Another thing is that it has implications on the environment.”