Nigeria's National Policy on Food Safety and Quality and its Implementation Plan 2023 (NPFSQIP) was officially launched by the federal government of Nigeria on 7 June 2024 during the World Food Safety Day commemoration activity in Abuja. The document aims to advance food safety in Nigeria through a comprehensive and sustainable system with coherent action plans. It includes a situation analysis, policy framework, institutional and legislative framework, implementation plan, funding mechanism and information on monitoring and evaluation.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) took part in the week-long World Food Safety Day activities in Abuja alongside other interested parties such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Agriculture Export Alliance (FAEA), and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG). GAIN participated in a workshop organized to launch four technical working groups which had been approved by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in January 2024 to support the development of science-based regulations upon passage, signing, and implementation of the Food Safety and Quality bill into law. GAIN will contribute to the technical working groups, and share its experience acquired through its USAID-funded Feed the Future EatSafe project. 

Among the recommendations in the new NPFSIS 2023 are:

• Restoring hygiene and sanitary inspection systems to strengthen the existing inspection of street food vending establishments, traditional food markets, primary food production centres, household hygiene and sanitation, and other related establishments.
• Greater attention by government to developing/strengthening the food safety knowledge, skill and capacity of smallholder farmers, street food vendors, traditional food market operators, slaughter slab operators, butchers, etc. to enable them to adopt and maintain global best practices and standards.
• Creation of an effective food safety public awareness structure through the establishment of a National Information and Communication System dedicated to Food Safety programmes and activities.

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World Food Safety Day events this year
GAIN Eatsafe project