The Ethiopian Standards Institute has made the use of the national fortified food mark a legal requirement for selected staple food products manufactured in the country, Capital Newspaper reported.

The mandate applies to wheat flour, edible salt and cooking oil. The institute said the move falls within its broader regulatory framework to standardise food quality, rather than to introduce new product classifications.

According to the institute, the fortified food mark is intended to indicate the presence of essential micronutrients in widely consumed food items, an area it said has become a growing focus of food regulation. Enforcement will be carried out through existing legal mechanisms.

Manufacturers found misusing the fortified food mark or failing to comply with the requirement face penalties ranging from one to five years’ imprisonment and or fines of up to 500,000 birr, the institute said.

Oliad Lencho, head of scheme and standards mark administration at the institute, said the mandate is designed to ensure consistency in nutritional content, particularly for products with high household consumption.

He said the standard is expected to support efforts to address child stunting and improve nutritional access for pregnant women, adding that these outcomes informed the institute’s decision.

Alongside the new mandate, the institute disclosed that 347 manufacturers across the food, chemical, construction, civil engineering and electrical sectors have already secured national standards certification and are authorised to use the standards mark, Capital Newspaper reported.