Quality assurance: SON signs MoU with APSAN in 5 states

COMFORT EKELEME, BUSINESS EDITOR

Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Farouk Salim said the organization has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Agricultural Produce Sellers Association of Nigeria (APSAN), in five states for quality assurance.

This development he said is geared towards standardizing agricultural produce for exports, adding that the organization is equally working toward reducing emissions from combustion engines, especially vehicles.

He equally stated that SON is strengthening its inter-agency collaboration to check substandard products and faking, particularly with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) due to the health implications.

Salim who disclosed this in Lagos during an interactive session with Newsmen, equally said that SON has signed a MoUs with a number of state governors to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to standardise their production processes, packaging, labeling, among others.

She said SON is collaborating with other relevant agencies on emission standardization in line with global concerns on climate change, adding there is a need for everything possible to protect lives and the environment.

According to him, the agency is currently encouraging importers and manufacturers of generators to prioritise low carbon emissions technology based on existing production standards.

 “We advise Nigerian exporters to seek advice from SON before attempting to export any product to avoid rejection in foreign markets,” he said.

He said SON is training its people on ISO 120400 to prepare them for the tasks ahead as well as on ISO 27001 for information and data security management systems. To this end, any IT company is registered in the country will be certified by the organisation in addition to getting their staff trained in the management system.

The SON boss further noted that He, however, noted that its Maiduguri office and the appliances are completely powered by solar due to the security challenges, which affected electricity supply from the national grid.

He said SON is working towards reviewing its existing Act 2015, with a view to strengthening its power and increasing the penalties for some offenses, while intending to bring back identification marks to enable consumers to check for quality assurance in a more sustainable way.