Director-General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr. Osita Aboloma, has called on manufacturers of African fermented condiments to take optimum advantage of the development of standards and code of practice for the products to promote greater competitiveness, locally and for export.
Aboloma made the call at the opening of a technical committee meeting on Culinary Herbs, Spices, Seasonings, Tea and Flavourings held at the SON Training Center, Ogba, Lagos.
A statement on Tuesday from SON Media Unit explained that Aboloma was represented at the event by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Yahaya Nuhu Fana.
The SON Chief Executive stated that the standardisation of the processes of production and quality of African fermented condiments was a necessary component to satisfy consumers and boost patronage of the products locally and internationally.
Aboloma stated that Africa was highly endowed with many fermented food condiments with available literature review identifying nine different products in Nigeria alone.
He alluded to the fact that production dynamics and methods employed in the manufacturing of these fermented condiments differ from one region to another.
According to him, the microbial interplay during production and the nutritional qualities in the condiments appear to be the same.
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He stated that the condiments in addition to their flavouring properties hitherto used to serve as source of plant protein particularly to rural dwellers.
He stressed that the associated nutritional benefits of its consumption had captured the attention of urban dwellers and highly placed people.
According to Aboloma, “Standards form the backbone of Quality Assurance that facilitates trading hinged on specifications, adherence to common testing regimes, use of common language, provision of specified level of quality and following international best practices.”
Aboloma described the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) as a precise and authoritative document that prescribes rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or for their results, aimed at the achievement of optimum degree of order for a product or service.
He challenged manufacturers of African fermented condiments to ensure compliance to minimum quality requirements and safety of these products as highlighted in the standard when finally approved by the Standards Council.
Chairman of the Technical Committee, Prof. Adeniyi Ogunjobi, of the University of Ibadan, stated that Nigeria was leading the way for the rest of the African continent to follow, as he explained that there is no record of standards for these set of condiments.
He disclosed that the products were already being exported to other countries of the world, hence the need to develop the standard and code of practice for comparison and conformity assessment in view of the imminent implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.
