The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has made digital data entry into the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) system mandatory for all edible oil refineries in the country under its updated licensing conditions.
The decision was announced at the DFQT+ System User Engagement Workshop held at Aloki in Tejgaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
The initiative is being implemented under a project titled “Digitization of Fortification of Edible Oil for Improved Monitoring, Quality Control and Capacity Building”, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
The digital system aims to strengthen vitamin A fortification, quality control and supply chain traceability of edible oil distributed across Bangladesh.
BSTI Director General Kazi Emdadul Hoque attended the workshop as chief guest. Sultan Alam, joint secretary (Planning) at the Ministry of Industries and project director of the initiative, and Md Zakir Hossain, joint secretary (Administration) and deputy project director, attended as special guests.
BSTI Director Md Alauddin Hossain chaired the workshop.
Real-time data submission made mandatory
Under Clauses 1 and 7 of BSTI's updated licensing conditions, edible oil refineries are now required to enter real-time data on fortification and quality tracking into the DFQT+ platform.
Operational officials from 16 edible oil refineries took part in the workshop and discussed implementation, operational guidelines and system workflows with officials from BSTI and the Ministry of Industries.
The participating refineries expressed their commitment to maintaining quality control, supplying safe and vitamin A-fortified edible oil and submitting the required information through the designated digital platform.
A technical session conducted by experts from BSTI and GAIN provided practical guidance on operating the system and following reporting protocols.
During an open discussion, several refinery representatives said they were already regularly submitting data through DFQT+ and found the reporting process simple and efficient.
According to BSTI, large-scale edible oil fortification has played an important role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies in Bangladesh since the relevant law was introduced in 2013.
The DFQT+ platform is expected to make the monitoring process more transparent, data-driven and verifiable, the institution said.
