UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Orga : Enhancing Nigeria’s food safety framework

ABUJA, 27 January 2015 - With the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and its EU-funded National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) Project, Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health inaugurated today two high-level committees.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Food Safety (IMCFS) and the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) will support the Ministry in implementing a National Policy on Food Safety in the country.

"With the dangers that expired food products bring, the Food Safety Policy is important for healthy food reaching people's homes. Nigeria will benefit from this policy through a drastic reduction of food-poisoning and food-borne diseases. The policy will also increase our foreign revenues as we will be able to meet international trade requirements," said Khaliru Alhassan, Minister of State for Health and Supervising Minister of Health.

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute, reiterated the importance of the new policy mechanisms in implementing food safety management and effectively delivering healthcare services in Nigeria.

Patrick Kormawa, UNIDO Representative, added that the trade objectives of the Food Safety Policy have been aligned with NQI Project activities through "capacity building, mitigating the prevalence of foods identified as 'high risk' in Nigeria, and the design of new food exports and manufacturing procedures for food products for the economic benefit of the Government and the people of Nigeria."

Representatives of the Federal Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; the Federal Minister of Environment; and the Federal Minister of Science and Technology were also present, along with Nigerian institutions and private sector entities.

Relevant development agencies working on food safety also participated, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), and USAID.