By Oluwafunke Ishola
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says the DFQT+ platform has boosted monitoring of food fortification, strengthened traceability and enabled faster detection of non-compliance among food producers.
Victoria Nsofor, Deputy Director, Nutrition Division, SON, said this on Tuesday in Lagos during a panel session held during the 56th Annual Scientific Conference and General Meeting of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN).
The panel session organised by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition has the theme, “Scaling Digital Fortification Quality and Traceability Plus (DFQT+): Revolutionising Compliance, Transparency, and Regulatory Oversight in Nigeria’s Large-Scale Food Fortification Programme”.
Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) is a country-owned digital system where participating stakeholders: premix producers, food producers (edible vegetable oil, wheat flour, sugar, etc.), and government agencies can upload, analyse, and share accurate and traceable food fortification data.
It is an innovative digital platform that represents a significant leap toward addressing long-standing challenges within Nigeria’s food fortification ecosystem by tracking and improving food fortification quality from factories to markets.
Nsofor said DFQT+ platform had given regulators access to fortification and quality-control data from producers, premix suppliers and other regulatory agencies in one centralised system.
According to her, SON currently conducts monthly visits to factories involved in food fortification as part of its compliance-monitoring responsibilities, a process that requires substantial human and financial resources.
She said access to reliable, regularly updated data on the platform would enable regulators to reduce routine factory visits and concentrate their efforts on facilities where the data indicated a need for closer supervision.
According to her, the centralisation of data makes it easier to identify the source of quality or fortification problems.
“If there is non-conformity, you can easily get to the roots of it, to the source. You can trace it in a shorter time,” Nsofor said.
She noted that the previous system, in which fortification data was often held separately by different agencies, delayed investigations because regulators had to formally request information from other institutions.
Nsofor said the platform would also generate data that could help regulators evaluate the performance of Nigeria’s food fortification programme and make evidence-based decisions on standards and policies.
Nsofor, however, identified inconsistent participation by some private-sector operators as one of the challenges facing the platform.
She said producers of fortified foods, particularly edible oil manufacturers, and premix suppliers were expected to upload their quality-control activities and results at least weekly.
While compliance had been strong among some producers previously, she said some had recently slowed down their reporting because of operational and quality-related challenges.
Nsofor, nevertheless, expressed optimism that the affected producers would return to full compliance.
She emphasised that cooperation among the co-regulators was critical, noting that the agencies needed to share relevant data through the platform to make the system effective.
Similarly, Mrs Eva Edwards, Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), said compliance gaps were undermining the impact of fortification programme.
“Fortification standards and regulations exist, but too many households still do not receive food that meets the mandated fortification standards.”
Edwards said Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) is a cost-effective defence against micronutrient deficiencies.
“It is the addition of essential vitamins and minerals, vitamin A, iron, zinc, folic acid, iodine, and more, to staple foods that most Nigerians already eat every day.
“It reaches over 200 million people daily through staple foods, with little to no behavior change required.”
She emphasised that DFQT+ does not replace statutory authority, but an enabling tool that makes compliance faster, easier, and more transparent for regulators, producers, and consumers alike.
Dr Nkechi Mba, Director, Quality Assurance and Development, FCCPC, said DFQT+ had improved regulatory efficiency and ensured that standard foods reach Nigerian consumers.
Adetola Otunla, Project Coordinator, Large-Scale Food Fortification, GAIN, said DFQT+ fosters real-time data sharing, transparency, trust, efficiency, and accountability across the entire food system value chain, enabling healthier populations.
Otunla said the initiative, funded by Gates Foundation and implemented by GAIN, provides consistent and actionable data on the quality of fortified foods, which are critical to ensuring programmes can achieve their potential public health impact.
GAIN collaborates with regulatory bodies like NAFDAC, SON, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), alongside private producers such as PZ Wilmar, Sunola Oil, and Apple & Pears Ltd. (NAN)www.nannews.ng
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
