By Emmanuel Elebeke

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has intensified efforts to enforce mandatory food fortification, with a renewed focus on bringing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into compliance as part of measures to tackle malnutrition.

Speaking at a two-day SON–LSFF food inspection workshop in Abuja on Monday, SON Director-General, Ifeanyi Okeke, said the agency is working to ensure that key food products such as flour, sugar, salt, edible oil, margarine and semolina produced by SMEs meet national fortification standards. He added that bouillon and rice would soon be included among the mandated food vehicles.

Okeke, who was represented by the Deputy Director of SON’s Nutrition Desk, Victoria Nsofor, explained that the workshop was aimed at strengthening compliance monitoring and enforcement nationwide.

“We develop standards and carry out assurance activities, but compliance monitoring and stakeholder engagement are critical to the success of large-scale food fortification in Nigeria,” she said.

Nsofor stressed that fortification is mandatory, warning that producers who fail to comply would face sanctions.

“Producers of fortified foods must understand that compliance is not optional. Non-compliance will attract sanctions,” she added.

SON food inspectors drawn from across the country attended the workshop to review field challenges and agree on strategies to improve enforcement for the rest of the year.

She, however, acknowledged that compliance remains weak, particularly among micro and small-scale enterprises.

“The big manufacturers are largely compliant, but micro and small enterprises are not. Many believe fortification is only for large players. That is the message we are taking to them in the coming weeks,” she noted.

According to her, SMEs dominate local food production, and their low level of compliance continues to affect national performance.

“If we can bring SMEs on board, the goal of ensuring fortified products are available in every market will be achieved,” she said.

Also speaking, Director of SON’s Standards Development Department, Muhammad Yunusa, who was represented by Deputy Director Jubril Muhammad, said the agency is collaborating with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to address capacity gaps among SMEs.

“The aim is to take the fortification message to the grassroots and educate producers on best practices so that fortified products are readily available in the market,” he said, noting that the selected food vehicles are widely consumed daily.

He explained that the initiative would be implemented in phases, beginning with the sensitisation of SON inspectors nationwide, followed by targeted engagement with manufacturers in selected states across the geopolitical zones, including Kano, Rivers, Gombe and Oyo.

Muhammad added that the focus on SMEs is deliberate, as most large manufacturers are already compliant, while small-scale producers in the informal sector often lack the capacity to meet required standards.

“As part of the state-level engagements, SON will collaborate with Commissioners for Industry and Health to strengthen coordination and ensure effective implementation.

“We cannot achieve meaningful results without involving state governments. They have a critical role to play,” he said.