NIGERIA: ADDITIONAL INFO RE BIOTECHNOLOGY

UNCLAS LAGOS 002189 SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/DMALAC AND OES/HLEE USDA FOR FAS/OA/BSIMMONS AND APHIS/BRS/JTURNER STATE PASS TO USAID FOR JLEWIS STATE PASS TO FDA FOR RLAKE EPA FOR JANDERSEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD SENV TBIO TSPL NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ADDITIONAL INFO RE BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS REF: (A) LAGOS 2163, (B) STATE 263456 ¶1. (U) Further to Ref A, Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) reports that the approval, importation and labeling of food products, including products of agricultural biotechnology, is governed by the Drug and Related Products Act (as amended) and related Food Products Registration Regulations and Prepackaged Food Products Regulations. ¶2. (U) Among other things, the laws and regulations provide that no food products shall be imported, manufactured or distributed unless such food products have been registered by NAFDAC. In addition, the Prepackaged Food Products Regulations state that no food products shall be sold or imported unless labels containing NAFDAC-stipulated information have been affixed. The regulations also state that "where the ingredients of a food item are known to cause hypersensitivity, such shall be declared on the label, especially those obtained through biotechnology". ¶3. (U) As things now stand, NAFDAC appears to be responsible not only for regulating the registration, advertisement and internal distribution of food imports, but also for regulating the biotech trade. GREGOIRE