Chocolate Royale, the upscale fast food chain owned by Lebanese business mogul, Amin Moussali have been closed down by NAFDAC for using expired ingredients and food products to prepare food and confectioneries for unsuspecting customers.
The agency, we gathered sealed off the Chocolate Royale's flagship restaurant at Plot 267A Etim Inyang Crescent and its Managing Director’s residence on No 1, Karimu Kotun Street, all in Victoria Island, Lagos, after being tipped off that the company engages in illegal importation and use of expired products.
The multinational outlet was also accused of operating illegal cold-rooms at their MD’s residence where large quantities of various expired and spoilt food ingredients worth millions of naira were discovered.
Kingsley Ejiofor, NAFDAC, Director, Investigation and Enforcement, said some top officials of the company were also arrested for willful obstruction of NAFDAC operatives during the raid which lasted for over nine hours.
Ejiofor said: “The suspects will be interrogated, while the products will be sampled and taken to the laboratory for analysis, where the labels and contents will be properly analysed. And at the end of the day when the results are out, that will determine the next of action.”
He said the company will remain closed until investigations are concluded.
Dr. Paul Orhii, NAFDAC’s Director-General, who inspected the seized products stated that asides the fact that the products are expired, they were not registered by NAFDAC therefore should not have come into the country in the first place.
Chocolate Royale has other restaurant in Lekki and highly patronised by the high and mighty.
Moussalli, an Architect and naturalised Nigerian, is the chairman of AIM Group. Aside Chocolate Royale, he also owns various broadcast stations including Cool FM, Nigerian Info FM, Wazobia FM, Cool TV, Wee TV and Wazobia TV among other business interests in Nigeria.
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