 Introduction
Food standards are usually rules and
regulations that spell out specifications or measures adopted by any
nation to ensure safety conditions required for processing food products
from raw materials to finished, consumable products or for industrial
market. They are laws that limit sales of unwholesome products and
simplify marketing of products in line with national or international
procedures. Such laws deal with quality, quantity, size, and packaging of
products. Food standards also deal with physical, chemical, and biological
properties as well as microbial compositions and micronutrients which all
determine the quality, safety or toxicity levels of food products for
human or animal consumption, and for industrial use.
Nigerian cassava products
Before 1999, Nigerian cassava products
were little known beyond the shores of the country. Nigerian cassava
transformation was limited to two major local products: gari, a
very popular roasted granules of fermented cassava similar to the
Brazilian farina and fufu a kind flour. However, with the
Nigerian Presidential initiative on cassava production and
commercialization, there was an upsurge awareness on the several
industrial products from cassava. Today, Nigerian farmers are being
overstretched because of the huge demand for cassava roots needed for
transformation into new food and industrial products.
The political will provided by
President Olusegun Obasanjo, (himself, a large-scale cassava farmer), by
pushing cassava beyond Nigerian borders urgently called for
competitiveness and standardization of the Nigerian cassava products to
launch the country into the international cassava market. While a group of
the industry watchers call for a gradual increase in the production of
cassava to meet local demand especially with new industrial products in
the fast food, paper, packaging, pharmaceutical, and textile industries,
another school of thought believed that both local and export markets
should be explored simultaneously.
The latter strategy has since been
adopted by the Federal Government to jumpstart industrial cassava
industrial development. The first shipment of 40 tons of Nigerian cassava
chips were exported to China in the first quarter of 2005. To ensure
further success of the policy, IITA in collaboration with relevant
stakeholders under the public/private/partnership concept is backstopping
the policy by refocusing on research-for-development. One of the positive
steps taken by IITA to ensure the implementation of the government policy
on cassava industrialization is this publication on cassava standards.
Standards of cassava products
Published by IITA in collaboration with
the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), and the National Agency for
Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the publication,
Standards for cassava products and guidelines for export, covers
the measures, rules and regulations for standardized processing,
preservation for human consumption, and packaging for export of Nigerian
cassava products. The standards conform with world trade requirements as
in other major cassava-producing countries of Brazil, Thailand, Ghana and
Paraguay. With the documentation of the standards in the publication
Nigeria has shown its commitment and seriousness to making cassava a major
foreign exchange earner. It has succeeded in putting Nigerian cassava
products in the world map and made local cassava products competitive. The
publication is timely because several other African countries are now
equally interested in investing in large scale cassava production for food
security and income generation.
Contents of the book
The book contains five chapters.
Chapter one talks of the roles and types of international standards in
food and other industries, while chapter two enumerates the various
standards for major Nigerian cassava products from the raw cassava roots
to processed edible products. Chapter three focuses on international
standards with special reference to countries like Ghana and Malawi, in
Africa, Brazil and Paraguay in Latin America and Thailand in Asia. On each
of the products described, the authors mention the scope of production,
quality, packaging, storage and labeling; and highlight the definition and
classification of the products either as food or industrial product. The
chapter also speaks of essential quality factors and analytical
characteristics including color, texture, and taste. It also covers
various types of food additives, hygiene standards, and contaminants.
Under labeling and packaging, the publication describes detailed net
weight of each product, date of manufacturing, country of origin, of the
product, and standards of storage and transportation. In each case, the
authors compare not only what obtains in other countries, but give
normative references of similar standard works from publications or
communiqués of conferences and seminars for further reading.
In chapter four, the book lists
certification procedures and steps of conformity to standards and quality
assurance as well as guidelines for pre-shipment/destination and quality
inspection for export and import. The last chapter contains general
information on standards and global regulatory bodies. It describes the
list of documents for product registration, inspection and reports on
food, water, cosmetics, and medical products as provided by NAFDAC. It
also documents addresses of Nigerian and foreign regulatory bodies.
Economic benefits of the standards
The book, Standards for cassava
products and guidelines for export is the long awaited publication
needed to carry Nigerian cassava and cassava products to greater heights.
The authors have demonstrated that collaboration, cooperation and
partnership are the keys to success of the Nigerian cassava industry, and
to a greater extent, the success of Nigeria’s agricultural development
efforts. It is a successful experiment in the private/public/partnership
paradigm shift whereby the private sector plays a leading role, while the
public sector provides the enabling atmosphere in the developmental
process of the industry. The book is a compendium of information for
people in the import and export business. It has come to fill a gap at a
time when there is dire need for standardization of products to check the
export of sub-standard products which may damage the image of the country.
Conclusion and recommendation
The publication is recommended to those
interested in commercial cassava food and industrial cassava products
export. It also provides the necessary platform for regulatory bodies to
become alert and monitor the Nigerian import/export business to ensure
that players adhere strictly to the standards therein. The book is an
indispensable companion to major cassava processors, flour millers,
bakers, fast food manufacturers, and the Nigerian Export Promotion
Council. It should be made available in public libraries, agricultural
research institutes, universities, and other higher institutions. The
publication is highly recommended to students in faculties of agriculture
and food technology, staff of all relevant government ministries including
Nigerian border posts.
For further details and to send
comments, please contact
Taye
Babaleye
Public Relations Manager
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
P.M.B. 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria
Tel +234-2-2412626
Fax +234-2-2412221
E-mail t.babaleye@cgiar.org
Web: www.iita.org
|
