The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has presented the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certificates for 23 products across nine companies.

Speaking on the sidelines of the presentation of the certificates on Monday in Ilorin, the Director-General of SON, Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, stated that 15 products were certified while eight were revalidated.

Okeke, who was represented by the Kwara Coordinator of SON, Abdulrazaq Oyewopo, explained that the MANCAP certification is the cornerstone of the organisation's efforts to uphold the highest standards in product manufacturing in the country.

According to him, SON regularly carries out inspection of companies to monitor adherence to quality standards, with quality assessments conducted after two consecutive inspections.

He further explained that the documents of companies that have attained the minimum standards requirements are submitted to SON's MANCAP office for compilation and subsequent certification.

Okeke described MANCAP as a mandatory product certification scheme established by SON to ensure that all locally manufactured products conform to relevant Nigerian industrial standards before being presented for sale or export.

"Some of the companies have up to three, four or more. Each product has its own requirements. So depending on the requirements, each company's product must meet the requirements of the standards before the certification," he said.

The Director-General noted that the organisation is striving hard to ensure that goods finding their way into Nigeria are inspected for standards.

He, however, lamented that the nation's ports require stricter monitoring to ensure that all imports are properly inspected and to prevent the influx of substandard goods.

Okeke also advised against packaging food items with used plastic bottles picked by scavengers, warning that it posed health hazards.

He explained that used plastic bottles were meant for recycling, and not for repackaging edible foods.

Speaking on the merits of MANCAP, the Assistant Chief Technical Officer of SON, Mrs Ibukunolu Alasan, said the certification assures consumers that a product has met the required quality standards.

According to her, it indicates that a product has been tested and certified, thereby enhancing its credibility and enabling it to be exported beyond Nigeria to international markets.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the firms that were awarded MANCAP certification include Jossy Foam Nig. Ltd and Tascon Plastic Industria Ltd.

Others are Kam Steel Integrated Company Ltd, El-Salmat Pharmaceutical Company and Danjuma Bread.