Know It. Test It. Trace It. Trust It.
The Real Thing Initiative™
A Consumer Safety, Product Integrity & Public Health Initiative of THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION
People should not have to gamble with the things they eat, drink, swallow, apply, build with or bring into their homes.
Understand what the product claims to be.
Use evidence and science to assess identity and safety.
Follow the product through its supply chain and outcome.
Build a marketplace where verification earns confidence.
Across Nigeria, families depend every day on food, medicines, beverages, cosmetics, household products, agricultural supplies, electrical goods and construction materials.
But what happens when the product inside the package is not what the label says it is?
Counterfeit, adulterated, expired, diluted, contaminated or fraudulently relabeled products can threaten health, drain family finances, damage legitimate businesses and weaken public trust.
THE REAL THING INITIATIVE™ was created around one simple belief:
People should not have to gamble with the things they eat, drink, swallow, apply, build with or bring into their homes.
Product fraud can appear in many forms.
- Fake medicines.
- Adulterated foods.
- Counterfeit beverages.
- Relabeled expired products.
- Substandard cosmetics.
- Unsafe electrical equipment.
- Inferior construction materials.
- Diluted agricultural products.
- Imitation packaging that makes a dangerous product appear legitimate.
The consequences can include illness, injury, treatment failure, financial loss, business damage and, in severe cases, death.
This is more than a marketplace problem.
It is a public health problem…a consumer protection problem…an economic problem…and a trust problem.
Triage → Stabilize → History → Disposition
Every report entering THE REAL THING INITIATIVE™ follows THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION operating framework.
Triage
Identify what may be dangerous now.
Stabilize
Protect people first and prevent additional harm.
History
Trace the suspicious product and its supply chain backward.
Disposition
Move every investigation toward a responsible outcome.
Priority concerns may include:
- Food and beverages
- Infant and child nutrition
- Medicines and medical products
- Cosmetics and skin products
- Agricultural chemicals and fertilizers
- Household chemicals
- Electrical products
- Construction materials
Reports involving suspected poisoning, severe illness, child exposure, treatment failure, clusters of illness or potentially dangerous products receive priority review.
When credible concerns arise, immediate steps may include:
- Preserving the product and packaging
- Recording batch and expiration information
- Documenting where the product was purchased
- Connecting affected individuals with appropriate health resources
- Referring the product to appropriate regulatory authorities or laboratories
- Supporting targeted public alerts when necessary
Prevent the next person from being harmed while the investigation continues.
Every suspicious product has a story.
THE REAL THING INITIATIVE™ works to trace that story backward.
- Where was it manufactured?
- Who imported it?
- Who distributed it?
- Which wholesaler handled it?
- Where was it sold?
- Was legitimate packaging copied?
- Was an expired product relabeled?
- Was the product diluted, contaminated or substituted?
- Are similar products appearing elsewhere?
This process becomes:
THE PRODUCT AUTOPSY™
Product → Manufacturer → Batch → Importer → Distributor → Wholesaler → Retailer → Consumer → Outcome
Over time, this information can reveal patterns that individual complaints alone cannot.
Every investigation should lead somewhere.
- VERIFIED
- REMOVED FROM SALE
- REFERRED FOR REGULATORY REVIEW
- REFERRED FOR ADDITIONAL TESTING
- CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUESTED
- CONSUMER SAFETY ALERT
- PUBLIC EDUCATION
- ONGOING SURVEILLANCE
- POLICY RECOMMENDATION
Finding one dangerous product is important.
Preventing thousands more from reaching families is the goal.
Quick, accessible product verification.
THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION envisions a future in which consumers can verify products quickly and easily.
Participating products, manufacturers, retailers or distributors meeting defined standards may eventually qualify for a GRACE VERIFIED™ designation.
A consumer could scan a QR code and access manufacturer, product identity, batch or lot, expiration, applicable regulatory registration, verification status, safety notices, and recall information.
Consumers can become an early warning.
Consumers are often the first people to recognize that something is wrong.
THE RED FLAG™ would provide a simple reporting pathway, including a WhatsApp-first model where appropriate.
Reports could include product photographs, labels, batch or lot number, expiration date, purchase location, receipt, what appeared abnormal, and any associated illness or injury.
The report then enters: TRIAGE → STABILIZE → HISTORY → DISPOSITION.
Informed observers close to the marketplace.
The people closest to the marketplace can become part of the early-warning system.
Market traders, pharmacists, healthcare workers, shopkeepers, food vendors, parents, students, drivers, and community leaders can learn to recognize warning signs and report concerns responsibly.
They are not investigators or vigilantes. They are informed observers helping protect their communities.
THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION would not replace regulatory agencies.
We help connect consumers, regulators, laboratories, manufacturers and communities.
One person noticing something unusual could help protect an entire community.
A multidisciplinary product safety and research laboratory.
As the initiative grows, THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION envisions a multidisciplinary product safety and research laboratory.
Potential areas of analysis may include ingredient verification, microbial contamination, drug identity and concentration, chemical adulteration, heavy metals, food composition, packaging authenticity, and water contamination.
The laboratory can also become a STEM learning environment where Nigerian students work alongside scientists, pharmacists, physicians, engineers and researchers.
Young people should not simply hear that counterfeit products exist. They should learn the science used to identify them.
GraceSafe Schools™: Stop. Look. Check.
Product safety begins early.
Through GraceSafe Schools™, children can learn a simple habit:
STOP
Do not automatically consume or use something that appears unusual.
LOOK
Check the packaging, seal, spelling, smell, color and expiration date.
CHECK
Ask a trusted adult or verify the product when something seems wrong.
Older students can learn about consumer rights, counterfeit detection, food safety, product verification and responsible reporting.
We are not only protecting children today. We are raising safer consumers for tomorrow.
Consumer Protection + Business Protection
Counterfeit products hurt more than consumers.
Counterfeit products punish responsible Nigerian businesses that invest in proper ingredients, safe manufacturing, employees, registration, quality control and taxes.
Responsible Nigerian manufacturers deserve a marketplace where quality is rewarded and fraud is exposed.
The objective is coordination.
THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION believes effective change requires partnership.
Potential collaborators may include appropriate Nigerian regulatory agencies, standards organizations, consumer protection authorities, universities, accredited laboratories, hospitals, pharmacies, manufacturers, market associations, retailers, technology companies and community organizations.
The objective is not duplication. The objective is coordination.
A defined pilot becomes the blueprint.
THE REAL THING INITIATIVE™ can begin with a defined pilot.
A selected community or market ecosystem. A small number of high-risk product categories. A standardized reporting process. Testing and regulatory referral pathways. Consumer education. Supply-chain tracing. Then measurable results.
The pilot becomes the blueprint for expansion across Nigeria and eventually other underserved communities.
A marketplace built on confidence.
Imagine a mother standing in a Nigerian market. She picks up a product. She scans it. VERIFIED.No guessing. No special connections. No wondering whether the contents match the package.
She knows.
And she goes home with confidence.
That is the marketplace THE REAL THING INITIATIVE™ seeks to help build.
THE REAL THING INITIATIVE™
Know It. Test It. Trace It. Trust It.Consumer Safety • Product Integrity • Public Health
THE SHODIPO~ASIMOLOWO FOUNDATION
With Grace, We Go!!!