The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has issued Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certificates for 28 products belonging to 19 companies in Niger State for conforming with the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).
Malam Faruk Salim, the Director General, SON made this known in Minna, while presenting the MANCAP certificates to the companies on Thursday.
“The total number of 28 products certificates will be presented to 19 deserving companies to serve as role models to other aspiring companies in Niger State.
“We have been awarding the MANCAP certificates to products that have met the minimum requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standards,” he said.
Salim said that MANCAP was a mandatory product certification scheme put in place by SON to ensure that all locally manufactured products in the country conformed with the NIS before such products were presented for sale in the market or exported.
He said that the measure was to promote consumers’ confidence and global competitiveness of Nigerian products and services were achieved by the implementation of NIS.
“Hence the importance of the product certification to both the manufacturers and the consumers,” he said.
The D-G said that success of the MANCAP scheme had shown that successful companies had standards and conformance was business tool that could guarantee quality, safety, increase in efficiency, cost reduction and boosting of market access for their products.
“Today’s event is to award MANCAP certificates to these companies as a mark of quality of their products,” he said.
He said that the recipients had pursued excellence in their production processes using NIS and gone through a rigorous process of inspections and demonstrated compliance to the relevant applicable standards.
Salim reminded the companies that the MANCAP certificates were valid for three years after which the products must undergo re-certification.
He said that the organisation would monitor the companies within the period to ensure compliance.
Earlier, Hajiya Hauwa Yusuf, the State Coordinator, SON said that the MANCAP scheme was mandatory for all manufacturing companies in the country.
“The MANCAP certification attracts more sales and turnover for the manufacturers,” she said.
Mrs Dorcas Yisa, the Managing Director, Nnaadama Farms in Minna told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the company received six MANCAP certificates for various products.
“We met the NIS in the production of moringa drink, sobo drink, ginger drink, ginger powder, spies and “dawadawa’’ or locust bean for cooking,” she said.
Yisa attributed the company’s success to passion for ensuring public health.
She assured that the company would continue to work hard to sustain its achievements.
NAN reports that the products certified for the companies included rice, cosmetics, foam mattress, fertilisers, Shea butter, local juice, groundnut oil, “kwulikwuli’’ among others. (NAN)
