Photograph — naijadanzor.blogspot.com

The reopening of the Victoria Island confectionery and restaurant, Chocolat Royale, has so far been less than welcomed by both high end customers and other speculators. The leading ice cream maker was shut down last month following the suspected use of expired and unsafe products. As opposed to taking further legal action, it seems as though the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) waved the entire case.

It was expected that the mounted allegations would move the agency to dig deeper or at least detain the perpetrators. Instead the company was given permission to open for business without a single public statement issued; a move which has enraged a lot of customers.

The Amin Mousali-owned Chocolat Royale resumed operations on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 and yet people aren’t willing to warm up to the managements attempt to salvage their reputation. A representative of the company confirmed this development to NET news agency, stating that they reopened after receiving approval from NAFDAC a week earlier.

A month ago the problem wasn’t whether they would make it back into the game, it was about the fact that they may never recover from the mess created. In this light, the latter seems to be the case. It may in fact be time for the café to hang its gloves. Not only have customers continued to emphasise their unwillingness to patronise the “newly” available products, but there is a brewing mistrust in NAFDAC’s ability to safeguard a healthy environment. How are we so sure that the agency approved this in the first place?

It is hardly a secret that the once cherished and highly patronised confectionery is at a cross road. When celebrity Nigerian DJ, DJ Xclusive shared a photo on Instagram to promote Chocolate Royale’s reopening he was shouted down by a number of his followers who did not share similar sentiments.

Dj exclusive 2

Here’s what they had to say:

new chocolat royale

Although NAFDAC has declined to comment on this development, this come back was announced on social media by members of staff of Cool FM. This is no coincidence considering the fact that the radio station is also owned by Amin Mousalli. Is it possible that a publicized reopening by NAFDAC may have softened the reaction of the aggrieved customers?

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