US embassy cable - 03LAGOS2189

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