BSTI makes digital reporting mandatory for edible oil refineries
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has made digital reporting of fortification and quality-control data mandatory for all edible oil refineries in the country under its updated licensing conditions.
BSTI formally introduced the requirement at the "DFQT+ System User Engagement Workshop", organised with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) at Aloki in Tejgaon, Dhaka, on 19 August, according to a press release.
Under Clauses 1 and 7 of BSTI's updated licensing conditions, edible oil refineries are required to enter real-time fortification and quality-tracking data into the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) platform.
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The initiative is being implemented under the project titled "Digitisation of Fortification of Edible Oil for Improved Monitoring, Quality Control and Capacity Building".
It aims to ensure effective vitamin A fortification, improve quality control and establish comprehensive supply-chain traceability for edible oil distributed across Bangladesh.
BSTI Director General (Secretary) Kazi Emdadul Hoque attended the workshop as chief guest.
Ministry of Industries Joint Secretary (Planning) and Project Director Sultan Alam and Joint Secretary (Administration) and Deputy Project Director Md Zakir Hossain attended as special guests.
BSTI Director (CM, Additional Charge) Md Alauddin Hossain chaired the workshop.
Operational officials from 16 edible oil refineries participated in the event. They exchanged views with representatives of BSTI and the Ministry of Industries regarding field-level implementation, operational guidelines and system workflows.
Participating refineries expressed their commitment to maintaining strict quality control, supplying consumers with safe edible oil fortified with vitamin A and submitting the required data through BSTI's designated digital platform.
Large-scale fortification of edible oil has continued to play an important role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies in Bangladesh in line with the country's relevant law enacted in 2013.
The DFQT+ platform is intended to transform the fortification monitoring process into a transparent, data-driven and verifiable digital system.
Technical experts from BSTI and Gain held a session to provide practical guidance on operating the platform and following its reporting protocols.
During an open discussion, several refinery representatives said they were already regularly submitting data through the DFQT+ system. They described the platform's reporting process as simple and efficient.
