By Gabriel Olawale

A former Director, Food Registration and Regulatory Affairs at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Rev. William Effiok has urged breadmakers in the country under the aegis of Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) to be prepared for a better business opportunities in 2024 by complying with regulatory standards.

Mr. Effiok stated this at the weekend in Lagos at the 2023 Day Out of Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN).

Speaking on the theme of the week, “Overcoming business challenges in the baking industry under harsh economic realities”, Mr. Effiok argued that meeting regulatory requirements helps to maintain quality and give consumers healthy and safe products for consumption.

He emphasized that allowing quackery and sharp practices among breadmakers will cripple genuine operators among the PBAN members.

He urged the Premium Breadmakers to put structure in place to curb unwholesome practices.

Also speaking, a Director of Food safety and Applied Nutrition of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs. Eva Edwards has reiterated the agency’s commitment to ensuring the standards and quality of its regulated products.

Edwards noted that the business environment is experiencing some challenges, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rates, and infrastructure, among others, threatening business sustainability.

She said that the producers of NAFDAC-regulated products must understand that safety, standards, and quality are not negotiable, despite all the challenges confronting them.

Edwards said that NAFDAC, under the leadership of Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, was concerned with the challenges posed by the factors listed above and had introduced some intervention measures to ease the burden on the stakeholders.

In his opening remarks, the President, Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), Engr. Emmanuel Onuorah said the challenges of being a breadmaker in Nigeria is quite enormous and very tasking with constant drop in their capacity and diminishing margins.

Onuorah noted that the cost far outstrips revenue, thereby leading to most of the bread producers running at a loss or barely surviving.

“We most often than not inadvertently keep recapitalizing our businesses to remain afloat, this is for those that have the capital outlay, while most bakeries that cannot inject fresh funds into their businesses shutdown.

“The main reason for our gathering here today is to interrogate and find solutions to our challenges as an industry from the regulators and other technical and commercial perspectives.”