*The Standards Organisation of Nigeria welcomes an official delegation from Bangladesh to its Laboratory Complex, in Lagos, describing the team’s visit as a key step towards building stronger international collaboration in food safety and fortification

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

As part of top measures towards building stronger international collaborations in food safety and fortification, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has hosted a delegation from Bangladesh at its Laboratory Complex, in Lagos.

绿帽献妻 reports the SON, which disclosed the development via a post on its official social media platform, said the delegation on the recent visit included representatives from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Ministry of Industry (MOI), Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection (DNCRP), Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Nigeria, and GAIN Bangladesh.

Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, Director-General of SON, welcomed the team.

Okeke described the Bangladeshi team’s visit as a key step towards evolving stronger international collaboration in food safety and fortification.

SON’s mandate to protect public health, enforce food safety standards, by Dr. Okeke

Okeke, represented by Mrs. Talatu Ethan, Director of Corporate Affairs Department, highlighted SON鈥檚 mandate to protect public health through the enforcement of food production, distribution, and consumption standards鈥攕upported by strong regulatory and monitoring systems.

The Director-General also introduced the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) system.

The standards regulatory agency described the system as a cutting-edge tool that tracks and verifies the quality of fortified foods, ensuring they meet standards and reach vulnerable communities.

SON further noted that the delegation, during the visit to its laboratory in Lagos, engaged with its DFQT+ Team, Food and Agriculture Group, Nutrition Unit, and Corporate Affairs Media Team.

It stated: “They also toured SON鈥檚 Micronutrient Laboratory, Mycotoxin Laboratory, Heavy Metal Laboratory, and Explosive Packaging Laboratory.”

Speaking during the visit, Mr. S.M. Ferdous, Director-General of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, appreciated SON for the opportunity.

Ferdous affirmed the delegation’s visit would help Bangladesh to strengthen the country’s food safety systems and fortification strategies.

SON said the learning visit was facilitated by GAIN Nigeria.

According to the agency, the GAIN Nigeria mission includes digitising the food fortification process, building DFQT+ systems, training industry/government stakeholders, and strengthening food fortification frameworks.

The Bangladeshi delegates, while in Nigeria, also had the opportunity of visiting the SON’s Analytical Quality Assurance and Control (AQAC) Laboratory in Sagamu, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), in Lagos State, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

Other Nigerian regulatory agencies the team visited included the Large Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) Core Group, the National Fortification Alliance, the National Technical Advisory Group (NTAG), WASIL, PEOPL, Standard Flour Mills, and GAIN Nigeria鈥檚 Country Management Team (CMT), said SON.

In his closing remarks during the visit, Mr. Yunusa B. Mohammed, Group Head of Codex, Nutrition and Tobacco Monitoring at SON, thanked the delegation and encouraged active knowledge sharing to further enhance ongoing global food safety efforts.

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