Dhaka: The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), has made digital data entry into the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) system mandatory for all edible oil refineries in the country.
The announcement was made at the “DFQT+ System User Engagement Workshop” held in the capital on Wednesday.
The initiative is being implemented under the project titled “Digitisation of Fortification of Edible Oil for Improved Monitoring, Quality Control and Capacity Building” to strengthen vitamin A fortification, quality control and supply-chain traceability of edible oil distributed across Bangladesh.
BSTI Director General (Secretary) Kazi Emdadul Hoque attended the workshop as the chief guest.
Sultan Alam, Joint Secretary (Planning) at the Ministry of Industries and Project Director of the digitisation project, and Md Zakir Hossain, Joint Secretary (Administration) and Deputy Project Director, attended the event as special guests.
Under updated BSTI licensing conditions, particularly Clauses 1 and 7, all edible oil refineries are now required to submit real-time data on fortification and quality monitoring through the DFQT+ platform.
Representatives from 16 edible oil refineries participated in the workshop and exchanged views with BSTI and Ministry of Industries officials on field-level implementation, operational guidelines and system workflows.
The participating refineries expressed their commitment to maintaining quality standards, ensuring the supply of safe and vitamin A-fortified edible oil and submitting required information through the designated digital platform.
Officials said large-scale edible oil fortification has continued to play an important role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies in Bangladesh following the enactment of the relevant law in 2013.
They said the DFQT+ platform will make the fortification and quality-monitoring process more transparent, data-driven and verifiable.
Technical experts from BSTI and GAIN conducted a session providing practical guidance on system operation and reporting procedures.
During an open discussion, representatives of several refineries said they were already submitting data regularly through the DFQT+ system and described the reporting process as simple and efficient.
The workshop brought together government and industry stakeholders to support the effective implementation of the new digital monitoring and reporting requirements.
