BY: VITALIS UGOH, Calabar
Five products of Ijeoma Bakery located in Ikom, Cross River state, have been officially certified by the Standard Organisation Of Nigeria (SON) with the Mandatory Conferment Assessment Program, (MANCAP) award.
They are “Blessed Ijeoma big loaf, Blessed Ijeoma small loaf, Blessed Ijeoma Banana quality bread, Ijeoma Special Bread and Sweetheart Special bread”.
The certificate and logos of the SON for each of the products were presented to the Managing Director of Blessed Ijeoma Bakery, Chief Michael Ndubisi at an elaborate ceremony held at the Meckason Hotels, Ikom.
Presenting the approved national permit to operate freely both in Nigeria and for export, the Cross River state coordinator of SON, Mr.Michael Ogbuji, said that the products met the high requirements of SON.
According to him, “the certificate and logos qualified Ijeoma Bakery to produce and sell its products within the country and for export”.
Ogbuji further disclosed that the Bakery got the recognition after intensive investigations to authenticate the quality of the products and hoped that the standard will be maintained.
Earlier, in an address, the Director General and Chief Executive of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, represented by the state coordinator, Ogbuji said “that MANCAP is a product of the SON saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that all locally manufactured products conformed with the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) before such products are allowed to be sold in the Nigerian markets and for export.
In an interview with our reporter shortly after the event, the proprietor of Blessed Ijeoma Bakery,, Chief Michael Ndubisi said that he was highly elated by the feat and assured that he will maintain the standard at all cost.
He recalled that he had attempted obtaining the certificate three times over the years but failed and hoped that with the achievement his products could be sold freely in Nigeria and for export.
Flanked by his wife Juliana, Chief Ndubisi said that “as an employer of labour everything would be done to expand on his business to accommodate more employees”.
According to him, “my products have special tastes that cannot be rivaled”.
He assured that soon the products would have the SON logo and advised consumers to look out for the logo to avoid imitations
