SON, AFBTE Collaborate To Enhance Products’ Standards
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers Association (AFBTE) have entered a collaboration aimed at improving the quality and standards of products manufactured in the country.
This collaboration was a major fallout of a forum in Lagos, where the chief executives of organisations under the umbrella of AFBTE hosted the Director General of SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma and some members of his management.
Speaking, the president of AFBTE, Mr. Paul Gbededo, who is also the group managing director of Flour Mills of Nigeria said the long standing collaboration between the two organisations in the areas of standardisation and quality assurance had been of immense benefit, and needed to be sustained.
He particularly commended the SON for its efforts in clarifying the specifications in the Nigeria Industrial Standard in relation to standards in other climes.
Such clarifications were critical especially in the light of the recent saga concerning safety of soft drinks.
The AFBTE president pledged the commitment of the association and its member bodies to promoting continual improvement in the food, beverages and tobacco sector in Nigeria in furtherance of the government’s economic diversification agenda.
Responding, the director-general of SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma, acknowledged the tremendous support his agency had been getting from the AFBTE member bodies particular in the hosting of technical committee meetings for standards development and review as well as their active and relevant contributions to the processes.
He stated that SON only played its statutory role in the soft drinks saga by providing documented facts as agreed by stakeholders and approved by the Standards Council of Nigeria.
“The concessions being enjoyed by members of the AFBTE in certification fees, import permits for raw materials and machinery shall continue to encourage improve capacity utilisation by the member companies”, he said
The SON DG charged the joint technical committee of SON and AFBTE proposed by him to work assiduously towards areas the association needs support.
Aboloma reiterated the commitment of SON under his leadership to fighting the menace of substandard products influx and circulation in order to protect local and foreign investments in Nigeria.
According to him, SON is working assiduously to expand the scope of international accreditation of its food chemistry and microbiology laboratories to provide greater opportunity to manufacturers in the bid to export their products.
He enjoined members of AFBTE to take optimum advantage of SON capacity in international management systems certification services to be in tune with international best practices at all times.
