By Ediri Ejoh

THE Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has emphasized the need for Nigeria to generate her own data on Benzene level in soft drinks, in a bid to arrive at the safe maximum level of benzoic acid or opt for alternative preservatives.

This came as they called for the approval of its five drafted standards set out for the consumption of these products.

These assertions was contained in a welcome address by the Director General, SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma to the Technical Committee meeting on water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks held in Abuja.

Represented by the Technical Assistant to the DG, Dr. Barth Ugwu, Aboloma posited that standards development and review are targeted among others at ensuring the health and safety of Consumers, as guide to manufacturers and Importers, as well as to promote fair trade practices.

He, however, called for the approval and consideration of the five draft standards by the committee, stressing that they involve products that are consumed widely and frequently by the generality of people across all age and economic strata.

The draft Standards includes: “Standard for Soft Drinks (for review), Standard for Energy Drinks, Standard for Ginger Drinks, Standard for Sparkling Fruit Drinks, Standard for Fruit Squashes, Concentrate and Fruit Cordial Concentrates.

He added that energy drink was one of the most highly consumed non-alcoholic drinks by between 30-50 percent of youths and adolescents (NCBI-Paediatrics: 2011), “however, in recent times, adverse health effects are being attributed to the rate of consumption of the drinks due to the caffeine and sugar contents in them.

This according to the SON DG underscores reason for the elaboration of the standard for energy drinks.

Aboloma charged the technical committee members to exercise great diligence in carrying out their task towards achieving the objective of setting standards that will adequately prescribe good quality and food safety requirements in line with international best practices.

“I implore you all to participate actively and freely express your concerns at every stage of the deliberations”.

In his own remarks, Chairman of the Technical Committee, Professor Jide Alo represented by Prof. Segun Ayejuyo, acknowledged the valuable contributions of the members through informed comments to the secretariat on the circulated drafts of the five standards under consideration and called for robust interactions that will ensure consensus, while having the safety and health of Consumers at heart.

He expressed the determination of the members to bring their vast and varied knowledge and wealth of experiences to bear on the deliberations and expressed the appreciation of the committee to the SON management for providing adequate secretarial support.

Participants in the technical committee meeting include representatives of Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (Fthe IIRO), Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) as well as major manufacturers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in Nigeria.