Today we had a good day meeting different clients including Nutritionists, Dietitians and Health officers in both hospitals and donor funded projects with nutrition programs. We also had a chance to visit several government regulatory bodies on food and fortified foods standards and requirements and was glad to note the consistency with which they are ready and willing to share information and i felt very reassured that we are in good hands as a country in terms of information sharing on requirements
The only difference is in the requirements required by different institutions for approval before they consider our products as part of their portfolio for use in their various programs. The question i would ask is what is the perfect combination for approval for a "borderline" supplementary food that lays no curative claim is, is it KEBS, MOH or pharmacy and Poisons Board or all at the same time? This i am yet to figure out completely as we go along as this is new to me but at the same time important if i have to move forward in this line of business.
One challenge that i found a bit interesting is the patenting issue that affects one of the products (RUTF/RUSF) that we are working with meaning that we can not sell in the countries that the patent is applicable but can sell to other countries (Somalia and South Sudan) which are part of my major targets. However since most of the decision makers are here in Nairobi then that makes it easy- but how do you talk to them without samples (someone enlighten me). Major organisations are using these in non patent countries but staff in patent countries are not fully aware of the product thus a challenge and i hope this will soon be an opportunity for me to create awareness on this particular one for countries not affected and yet face the most shortage of the RUTF and RUSF as an alternative that can be used to fill in the gap. http://www.nutriset.fr/Downloads/PFE-RUTF-Increasing-access.pdf
On the same issue it is interesting to note that one national institution was not aware of the patent and could not understand what i was saying and the question was "who, why, how, when" but i am aware that this has been a discussion on a global level.
Tomorrow is another day and even as we soldier on i am hopeful that this will work out. At times i am not sure if i made the right decision but meeting potential clients for the last two weeks gives me hope and a reason to go on. I am also hoping that more organisations get on board and support me as we introduce a new product into the East and Central African market....
You can contact us on 020 2306839 or info@bradchelinvestments.com for samples or purchase of the products. We deliver to your field location.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brad-Supplies-Logistics/281950418634064
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