The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said that synergy amongst federal government’s regulatory agencies at the ports is required to end the rejection of made-in-Nigeria food products by the United States of America and European Union (EU).
The Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who decried the incessant rejection of food and agricultural commodities from Nigeria by the US and the EU member countries on account of poor quality, said that an urgent and lasting solutions is needed to stop the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) border rejection notifications from the European Commission on products originating from Nigeria.
Speaking on the quality and safety of export food trade at a virtual technical roundtable meeting with other federal government agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIS), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN), amongst others, Adeyeye lamented the resultant bad image the repeated rejection of commodities from Nigeria by the EU has caused the country.
In a statement by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, in Abuja on Sunday, Adeyeye said the agency had analyzed the RASFF alert from the EU and observed that most of the rejected products by the EU were smuggled out and not certified by NAFDAC nor the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services at the ports, adding that this calls for proper collaboration and synergy amongst all agencies of government to curb the indecent behaviour of some exporters and ensure only quality and certified products are exported.
“We need to close gaps and work together to prevent regulatory gaps being exploited by the unscrupulous traders and their collaborators. There must be a convergence for all regulatory activities especially at the Ports of Exit as a starting point before we begin cleaning up and capacitating the honest operators and traders within the country,” she said.
Adeyeye said that the stakeholders’ meeting was apt considering the volume of food and agricultural commodities from Nigeria that is currently facing challenges at entry points in some countries in Europe and the US where they have been repeatedly rejected and which has become a great issue of concern.
‘’NAFDAC has a statutory responsibility to safeguard public health through the execution of its mandate. We are charged with the responsibility to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled and packaged water, chemicals generally referred to as NAFDAC regulated products,” she said.
According to her, NAFDAC is designated as World Trade Organization/Sanitary and Phytosanitary Enquiry Point in Nigeria on Food Safety to facilitate international trade and respond to enquiries on safety standards, regulations and guidelines on food trade in Nigeria.
The NAFDAC DG said Nigeria’s products meant for export market are faced with presence of contaminants such as pesticide residues, notoriously dichloride and other impurities exceeding maximum permitted level and some with inadequate packaging and labelling which had caused a lot of products rejections in the global market.
According to her, the international market is competitive in nature and only welcomes products of high quality with relevant certifications and quality packaging that is environmentally friendly to trade globally.
She also explained that the problem of quality, standard, certification and appropriate packaging for made-in-Nigeria products destined for export has been an issue in the international market and there is need to address the issue of rejections.
The NAFDAC boss noted that the agency has over the years intervened to assist Nigerian exporters meet international regulations thereby creating employment and earning foreign exchange for Nigeria.
She added that it was agreed that all made-in-Nigeria products be subjected to 100% pre-export testing and issuance of health certificate to products with satisfactory limits before the EU further verify at their border control points.
Following the RASFF alert received from EU, Adeyeye said NAFDAC have sensitized food processors, handlers and exporters through training programmes, workshops and seminars on current Food Safety Management requirements such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) and Risk Analysis to ensure that products are safe and of good quality to gain consumers confidence and acceptability in Nigeria and international export markets.
‘’Effective assessments of export products are very key and basic information that may need to be considered in the accompanying shipping documents include Certificate of Radiation, Health certificate, Sanitary and Phytosanitary certificate, evidence of fumigation of vessels and evidence of risk-
based inspection on food Safety, must all be certified by the appropriate and designated competent authorities having current scope-testing accreditation,” she said.
Source: Thisday
