This was disclosed in a statement signed by Ondaje Ijagwu, Director of Corporate Affairs at the FCCPC.

The development comes weeks after the FCCPC directed manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers to withdraw consumer goods that do not comply with mandatory product labelling requirements.

What the FCCPC is saying

The Commission stated that the study was conducted in randomly selected markets and households across the northern and southern parts of the country over two months.

It highlighted that the methodology involved a Household Food Fortification Survey, complemented by the use of the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) platform to support the monitoring and traceability of fortified food products.

• “Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) is the practice of deliberately adding essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, folic acid, vitamin A, zinc and iodine to widely consumed staple foods and condiments during industrial processing.
• “LSFF is intended to address micronutrient deficiencies and reduce the prevalence of hidden hunger. This is a public health issue that affects people globally, including pre-school children and women of reproductive age,” the statement partly read.

The Commission maintained that national food policy mandates manufacturers to fortify their products.

The FCCPC stressed that an analysis of 200 samples, comprising 100 each of vegetable oil and salt, showed that 12% of the oil and 2% of the salt were inadequately fortified at the household level.

It highlighted that, among the 100 vegetable oil samples, 49 were unbranded while 51 were branded.

• “The branded products included Devon Kings (19), Power Oil (12), Activa (4), Golden Penny (3), Laziz Oil (3), Mamador (1), Lasor Oil (1), Golden Terra (1), Canola (1), Primo Vegetable Oil (1), Zimzitana Oil (1), Ayarah Oil (1), Sim (1), Tadenkey (1) and Okli (1),” it added.

The Commission added that the salt samples comprised 19 unbranded and 81 branded products, including Mr Chef (71) and Dangote (10).

Another issue identified by the Commission was the limited onboarding of manufacturers onto the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) platform, developed to improve the tracking of fortified foods from production to the point of consumption.

The Commission noted that only six vegetable oil producers had registered on the traceability platform, while only eight results belonging to three of the six companies could be uploaded, out of the 100 vegetable oil sample results analysed by the Commission.

• “Accordingly, the Commission has issued a directive compelling the defaulting producers to comply,” the Commission stated.

The FCCPC further explained that better product traceability would benefit both consumers and businesses, making it easier to identify quality concerns, improve transparency and help manufacturers and regulators address problems across the supply chain.

The Commission also encouraged manufacturers, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to embrace product registration and digital traceability.

It called for increased consumer awareness of the importance of fortified foods and proper product handling and storage.

FCCPC escalates development to NAFDAC

The Commission further disclosed that it had escalated the development to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for further action, in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between both authorities.

Commenting on the exercise, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, stressed that consumers should be able to trust the quality of the products they buy and the benefits those products are expected to provide.

Mr Bello maintained that businesses have a responsibility to maintain appropriate quality standards and ensure that their products meet applicable requirements.

What you should know

In a separate but related consumer protection effort, the FCCPC has also been investigating the cement industry over concerns about pricing.

The Commission’s industry-wide investigation suggested possible manipulation of cement prices in Nigeria and prompted a probe of key players in the sector.

The investigation followed concerns over Nigeria’s comparatively high retail cement prices despite its substantial limestone deposits, domestic production capacity and reported surplus installed capacity.

The Commission has previously taken action over cement pricing. In 2024, it criticised dealers for selling BUA Cement for between N7,000 and N8,000 per bag, compared with the company’s recommended price of N3,500 at the time.