The conference brought to light the need for harmonization of food legislation in Pakistan to ensure food quality and standards which protect the health of consumers while facilitating trade at the domestic and international level. The minister said that Pakistan's food industry is the second largest one and plays a key role in the country's economic growth. Establishing harmonized food standard practices protect consumers and facilitate international trade. "Our political leadership needs to resolve the issue of having a different standard for each province.
It is unfortunate that they don't have a national food standards council yet. Provincial food authorities should play a positive and proactive role in promoting industry and future investments," he said. This issue is not a matter of personal ego rather the adoption of international best practices. The national conference organized will give new direction to scientists, regulators and other stakeholders for a way forward on harmonization of food standard and safety, Rana Tanveer added.
Awilo Ochieng Pernet, the outgoing Chairperson of Codex Alimentarius Commission said the effective implementation of food safety and standards enable national products to have access to regional and international markets. Putting food safety and national food rules on political agenda is the first step towards economic growth for Pakistan. Bruno Olierhoek, Managing Director and CEO Nestlé Pakistan Ltd & Vice President Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), stressed, "Pakistan should have one national food council on federal level, responsible for making one national food standard for the whole country while all provincial food authorities should be responsible for enforcing these standards. These standards must be harmonized with CODEX International Standards so that import and export can also be facilitated "One Pakistan, One Food Rules."
The conference also had two technical sessions on food harmonization and food safety which were chaired by Malik Zahoor Ahmad, senior advisor, Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research, and Prof Dr Tahir Zahoor, director general National Institute of Food Science and Technology. The two sessions saw participation from Khalid Siddiq, Director General Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), Dr Muhammad Ashraf, Chairman Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), and Noor-ul-Amin Mengal, Director General Punjab Food Authority (PFA).
Speaking at the valedictory session, Federal Minister for Commerce Muhammad Pervez Malik said that unsafe food causes more than 200 million deaths across the globe. Food safety is a cross-cutting issue and requires participation from all stakeholders including consumers, private sector, governing bodies and regulators. "It is possible only when we have harmonized standards based on global standards like Codex that we will have access to international markets. We are one nation, let's make our food safe and let's harmonize ourselves," he said.
Secretary Board of Investment (BOI), Azhar Ali Chaudhry said that food safety and harmonization of standards both are of paramount significance. Harmonization is an integral part of BOI's objectives to create an investment friendly environment. The food sector is sensitive as food is difficult to manage without set standards. Adopting internationally accepted standards are conducive to trade and also likely to reduce costs to develop nation specific standards. The Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Agriculture should take steps to harmonize food standards to encourage investment, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017