A viral list circulating online has placed Cowbell, Peak Milk, Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes and other familiar beverage brands alongside medicines, cosmetics and food products allegedly declared fake by NAFDAC. But the list combines separate regulatory actions from different years and does not represent one new agency alert declaring the brands themselves counterfeit.
NAFDAC’s records show that the agency has issued specific alerts for counterfeit products, recalled products and unregistered or substandard goods. Its archive, for example, records a 2025 alert on counterfeit Cowbell “Our Milk” and a 2023 alert on counterfeit Peak Milk, while other notices concern medicines and cosmetics.
Counterfeit drinks in Aba
The strongest beverage evidence behind the viral list comes from NAFDAC’s Operation Clean Up Aba, which targeted Cemetery Market in Abia State in December 2024 and was announced in January 2025. The agency said it had sealed more than 240 shops operating as makeshift factories and recovered fake and substandard products valued at about ₦5 billion.
Among the products were counterfeit versions of Coca-Cola, Fanta, Schweppes, Lacasera, Sprite, Hollandia Yoghurt, Super Commando Energy Drink, Feyrouz and Amstel Malta. NAFDAC also identified Peak Sachet Milk, Cowbell Sachet Milk, Peak Chocolate Drink, Miksi Sachet Milk, Cadbury Chocolate Drink and Ovaltine among the home-use beverages being counterfeited.
Cowbell was a specific alert
Cowbell appeared separately in an August 2025 NAFDAC alert over counterfeit “Our Milk” 12g sachets circulating in Nigeria. The agency said the product was imitating Cowbell packaging but was not manufactured or distributed by Promasidor Nigeria, which had already stopped producing that variant in September 2023.
That distinction matters for the beverage trade because counterfeiters can use established brands to sell products that have no connection with the legitimate manufacturer. A fake Coca-Cola or Peak product found by NAFDAC therefore does not mean the agency has declared Coca-Cola or Peak generally unsafe or counterfeit.
Not every product was fake
The viral list also mixes regulatory categories that carry different meanings. NAFDAC’s archive records recalls for products such as Amoxivue, Juhel Folic Acid and Regpara, while alerts for Noristerat, Cikatem and Aflotin concerned counterfeit or falsified medicines. It also recorded a recall of Nivea Roll-On and an alert on adulterated lots of Japata Alcoholic Bitters.
For consumers, a recalled product, an adulterated batch, an unregistered product and a counterfeit version of a genuine brand are not interchangeable findings. The agency’s enforcement record supports checking the particular product, batch, packaging and regulatory status rather than treating every brand appearing on the viral compilation as banned or fake.
What consumers should check
The immediate risk for beverage manufacturers is that a misleading compilation can blur the difference between a legitimate product and an illegal imitation carrying its name. That can damage consumer confidence in brands that were actually the victims of counterfeiting, while making it harder for shoppers to recognise the specific products regulators have identified.
Consumers should therefore verify the product itself rather than rely on the viral list. NAFDAC’s own records show that its alerts can apply to a particular variant, batch, formulation or counterfeit version, meaning the brand name alone is not enough to establish that a product is unsafe.
