CS-SUNN's Okoronkwo Calls for Mandatory Bouillon Cube Fortification, Backed by Manufacturer Tax Incentives

Sunday Okoronkwo, Executive Secretary of Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), has a straightforward proposal for the country's kitchens: make it compulsory for bouillon cubes to be fortified with micronutrients, and have the government help manufacturers pay for it. He set out the case in an interview with the Daily Trust, published in early November 2026.

The starting point is a policy Nigeria already has. In 2024 the country adopted a voluntary standard for fortifying seasoning cubes. It lays out a technical route for adding iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12. Okoronkwo calls it a step in the right direction, but says implementation remains a challenge, because a voluntary approach lets some manufacturers comply while others do not.

He puts much of the problem down to cost. Adding micronutrients raises production expenses, so a company that fortifies may have to charge more than a competitor that does not. In a price-sensitive market like Nigeria, that leaves compliant firms at a disadvantage. Some manufacturers, he says, may hold back even when they understand the public health benefit.

His answer is to move from voluntary to mandatory fortification. He points to the country's high malnutrition burden and to anaemia among women of reproductive age as the reasons a more consistent approach is needed. A mandate would also level the field: if every company making bouillon cubes meets the same standard, none is penalised for complying.

But Okoronkwo does not want a mandate on its own. He says the government should consider tax incentives, including reducing or removing taxes on nutrient premixes and other fortification inputs. Affordability is the concern. Bouillon cubes are widely eaten, including in poorer households, and if fortification pushes prices up, some buyers may cut back or stop buying. That, he argues, would defeat the purpose of the policy.

Enforcement is the other pillar. Regulators, he says, should check that the nutrients declared on labels are actually in the product, in the prescribed quantities, and manufacturers must print accurate label information. If a company claims its product is fortified, there needs to be a reliable way to confirm it. He also warns that enforcement alone may not work if firms face heavy financial barriers, and describes a sustainable package as mandatory standards, credible monitoring, tax incentives and affordable access to premixes.

The interviewer also raised the main objection: bouillon cubes contain salt, and encouraging their use could worsen sodium intake and raise the risk of hypertension and other non-communicable diseases. Okoronkwo says that concern should not be dismissed, since excess sodium can contribute to high blood pressure. His response is that cubes are already a familiar, widely used food, which makes them a vehicle for delivering nutrients, and that fortification is meant to improve what people already use, not to get them to use more. He says public education should accompany any policy, including guidance on how much seasoning to use. As an example, someone who habitually puts two cubes in a meal might manage with one, depending on the recipe and dietary needs.

He frames the sodium and nutrition concerns as issues to be managed together, not as opposites, and says Nigeria cannot afford to pass up the chance to improve nutrition, especially for women and children who may lack a diverse diet. What to watch is whether any move toward a mandate arrives with the pieces he describes: tax relief on premixes, label verification and testing, and consumer guidance on salt.