The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has completed arrangements for the launch and unveiling of its Product Authentication Mark (PAM) sticker to check the inflow of fake, substandard and counterfeit goods into the country.
The Director General and Chief Executive, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim disclosed this at a stakeholders sensitisation programme on Product Authentication Mark (PAM) in Lagos.
According to a statement signed by the Director, Public Relations, Mrs. Foluso Bolaji, the Director General said the over twenty security features sticker when fully in use will address the prevailing challenges experienced as a result of dishonesty on the part of fraudulent importers and manufacturers of products.
According to him, the Organisation had introduced the Conformity Assessment Programme which is meant for imported goods into Nigeria to make sure that goods coming into the country are certified before they enter the market.
“SON introduced the SONCAP to ensure the quality of products in our market that we will be proud of as consumers while the merchants of fake products will continue to flood the market with substandard items.
“We also introduced for the locally manufactured goods the MANCAP in order not to be seen by the International Community as creating a trade barrier so that imported goods cannot come into our country especially with Nigeria being a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“With this imported product will be certified and given the Product Authentication Mark (PAM) and it will be in our market,” he said.
The SON DG while reminding the stakeholders that a sister agency, the National Agency for Drug and Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has similar sticker for drugs only noted that despite the PAM scheme covering all SON regulated products both locally manufactured and imported, it would be made voluntary to local manufacturers advising them to key into the scheme in order to keep Nigeria safe and strong.
“The sticker is not mandatory for the locally manufactured products for now, we are making it voluntary for them as I believe if they see the beauty of the PAM and the security it brings to their products, most of them will come in in due time.
“PAM will also protect genuine manufacturers and importers from faking and counterfeiting of their certified product as well as promote a level playing field in the market for both locally manufactured and imported products certified by SON,” he said.
The Deputy Director Product Certification, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Mr. Enebi Onucheyo said arising from rampant application of the mark on non-certified products, the agency decided to control the printing of the mark as well as improve its security features through physical and digital technology.
“PAM will fortify the authenticity of SON certified products belonging to genuine Manufacturers and Importers by providing a level playing field for imported and locally manufactured products.
“It will also ensure value for Money to both consumers and manufacturers by diminishing the negative effects of faking, cloning and counterfeiting of SON certified products.
“PAM will further help consumers identify genuine and certified SON regulated products,” he said.
Source: Blueprint
