The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), under the Ministry of Industries and in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), hosted the “DFQT+ System User Engagement Workshop” today at Aloki, Tejgaon, Dhaka. The event marked the official rollout of the data-sharing mandate, making digital data entry into the Digital Fortification Quality Traceability Plus (DFQT+) system mandatory for all edible oil refineries across the country under updated BSTI licensing terms.
The initiative, implemented under the project “Digitization of Fortification of Edible Oil for Improved Monitoring, Quality Control and Capacity Building,” aims to ensure effective vitamin ‘A’ fortification, quality control, and full supply chain traceability for edible oil distributed across Bangladesh.
Kazi Emdadul Hoque, Director General (Secretary) of BSTI, attended the event as the Chief Guest. Sultan Alam, Joint Secretary (Planning), Ministry of Industries, and Project Director of the “Digitization of Fortification of Edible Oil for Improved Monitoring, Quality Control and Capacity Building” project, alongside Md. Zakir Hossain, Joint Secretary (Administration), Ministry of Industries, and Deputy Project Director of that project, were present as Special Guests. The workshop was chaired by Md. Alauddin Hossain, Director (CM, Additional Charge), BSTI.
Key Highlights and Decisions of the Workshop:
- Digital Mandate and Compliance: Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 7 of BSTI’s updated licensing conditions, all edible oil refineries in the country are now legally bound to input real-time fortification and quality tracking data into the DFQT+ platform.
- Public-Private Collaboration: High-level representatives, including operational officials from 16 edible oil refineries across the country, participated in the workshop. They exchanged views with BSTI and Ministry of Industries officials regarding field-level implementation, operational guidelines and system workflows.
- Industry Commitment: Participating refineries expressed their firm commitment to maintaining strict quality control, delivering safe, vitamin A fortified edible oil to consumers, and submitting the required data to the designated BSTI digital platform.
- Positive Public Health Impact: In line with national policy following the 2013 law, large-scale edible oil fortification continues to play a pivotal role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies in Bangladesh. The DFQT+ platform transforms this entire process into a transparent, data-driven and verifiable digital system.
A technical session conducted by technical experts from BSTI and GAIN provided practical guidance on system operation and reporting protocols. During a subsequent open discussion, several refinery representatives shared that they are already submitting data regularly through the DFQT+ system, noting that the reporting process via this platform is simple and efficient.