ISLAMABAD: TheNetwork for Consumer Protection has appealed to the federal government and the ICT management for the early enactment of the rules of business of recently passed ICT Food Safety Act.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday at the National Press Club, the officials of the TheNetwork and GAIN (The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition), said that it will help the inhabitants of Islamabad Capital Territory to be covered under the upgraded safer food regulations at par with provinces.
The ICT food Safety Act was passed by the joint session of the Parliament on November 17 this year after remaining under parliamentary review for over two years. The rules of business will operationalise the much-needed law.
Since constitutional devolution in 2010, all provinces have enacted laws to establish food authorities. Now the Parliament has also replaced the 1960 pure food law with new legislation and extended safer food protection to consumers of the Islamabad metropolitan area.
This legislative measure was welcomed by TheNetwork and GAIN (The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition), in a press conference, as part of their initiative to create enabling environment for nutritious and safe food in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Expressing optimism, GAIN’s Senior Policy Advisor, Faiz Rasool, said that this piece of legislation is a great initiative and would be a step ahead towards the government of Pakistan efforts on “Transforming Pakistan’s Food Systems”. Pakistan has one of the highest malnutrition burdens in the world. Diet is the number one risk factor in the burden of disease and is a central driver for all forms of malnutrition and many non-communicable diseases (NCD’s). Faiz Rasool also focused on the importance of safe & nutritious food. He emphasized the need for increased knowledge & awareness of the Pakistani population on creating a demand for healthy diets and dietary behaviors.
Nadeem Iqbal, CEO of TheNetwork, said that the recent passage of Islamabad Food safety Act by the joint session of the parliament has brought forth new opportunities for the federal government to build required food safety infrastructure and institutions in the capital city so that people can consume safer food.
The ICT food safety bill was stuck in the labyrinth of the Parliament since 2018, when two identical bills were simultaneously presented in the National Assembly and the Senate. TheNetwork fears inordinate delay in the enactment of the rules of business.
Interestingly, both the bill was passed from their respective houses after stipulated scrutiny by the parliamentary committees having representation from all parliamentary parties. However, the bill passed by the Senate was not passed by the National Assembly, and the identical bill passed by the National Assembly was not passed by the upper house.
All four provincial assemblies enacted laws to establish food regulatory mechanisms – the Punjab Food Authority 2011, Balochistan Food Authority 2014, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Food Safety & Halal Food Authority 2014 and Sindh Food Authority 2017 – in their respective jurisdictions. However, their performance has mixed results.
Establishing the Islamabad Food Safety authority under the Food Safety Act 2021 and need to be strongly focusing on the development of rules of the business and budget allocation. This would also help to improve the health of the people by managing food-borne diseases and increasing food trade.
The Islamabad Capital Territory, the federal government’s exclusive domain, can set an example by developing an international, efficient, safe food regulation for the provinces to follow once the ; so far, there is no food safety regulatory body to provide safe food to the start to function for the capital’s residents.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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