NAFDAC to enforce new policy on imported food registration

 

Yetunde Oni, acting director-general, NAFDAC, made this known to journalists after the official opening of the Food Nigeria Exhibition Conference in Lagos recently.

 

“Fifteen years is too long for a manufacturer to still continue to import their products into Nigeria. The manufacturer should explore the possibility of bringing in their technology into Nigeria and that is a policy in NAFDAC we would begin to enforce,” Oni said.

 

“If a manufacturer brings in their technologies, production will be cheaper because of cheap labour here. People will be engaged, and the market is here in Nigeria as they have the opportunity to break even,” she added.   

 

NAFDAC currently grants licenses to reputable foreign products manufactured outside the shores of the country, after an application is filed by a Nigerian representative.

 

The representative of a foreign manufacturer is expected to have a duly executed power of attorney from the manufacturer authorising him or her to act in the capacity for such products.

 

The acting director-general reiterated the need for organisations that are interested in food products to ensure that the products are safe for consumption and meet health standard standards.

 

Oni stated that the success of the food and beverage sector in the country depends on consistent sale of safe products as well as maintenance of consumer confidence in food and beverage supply.

 

On European Union (EU) ban on Nigeria beans, Oni said NAFDAC has put in place a framework and is optimistic that by the time the EU looks through the framework put in place to ensure proper procedures and processes, the union will allow entry of local beans into the European market.

 

Also speaking at the event, Fubar Chuku, director/ national coordinator, food supply program said, “Everybody involved in producing food for public consumption needs to be aware that there are health risks associated with poor or improper processing.  These risks can be eliminated if international standards and practices are adopted in the course of harvesting, processing, packaging, storage, transportation and sales of food.”