ISLAMABAD: Main-taining the economic viability of Pakistan’s agriculture sector remains challenging due to the lack of a coherent sanitary and phytosanitary regulatory framework and harmonized food safety laws, outdated animal and plant health laws, poor supply chain management, and a heavy focus on end-product food safety testing, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The bank in its latest report, “Strengthening food safety systems in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation member countries current status, framework, and forward strategies” stated that Pakistan’s food safety system lacks a supra-ministerial advisory board to coordinate activities among concerned agencies, making food safety governance cumbersome and complex, often failing to facilitate trade and protect public health.
There are more than a dozen federal and provincial food laws in the country, and several do not address contemporary issues on food safety. Despite the numerous regulations on food safety, a significant proportion of the agro-food products produced in Pakistan are not compliant with animal and plant health and food safety standards, often due to high chemical and pesticide residues.
Pakistan’s food imports are regulated by the federal government, while provincial and municipal governments regulate food safety standards concerning the domestic trade of food products. Municipal governments adopt separate laws to control food safety but do not address consumer concerns on adequate safety in food products in retail outlets. When existing regulations do not cover a product, officials generally adopt Codex guidelines.
Pakistan’s three-tier food safety system involves interventions by several ministries and agencies in each tier. The Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) is responsible for plant and animal health, food safety regulations, and seed certification. The agency that is involved in food safety is the Ministry of Science and Technology. It sets limits for food contaminants based on Codex Alimentations or other international food standards. The Ministry of Ports and Shipping oversees the Marine Fisheries Department in ensuring the food safety of fish and fisheries products. The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) is a member of the ISO and is the apex body for formulating or adopting international standards. Domestic manufacturers and exporters must be registered with the PSQCA.
Pakistan has a sufficient number of laboratories for food safety monitoring and regulation, some of which have modest to adequate equipment and human resources capacity. Approximately 200 laboratories are involved in various microbiological and chemical contaminant tests of food hazards. More than 100 laboratories are accredited under the ISO-17025 system and have reference laboratory status. Laboratories in the public sector are working under respective ministries. Pakistan has a National Physical Standards Testing Laboratory, a designated calibration laboratory that the Pakistan National Accreditation Council ISO-17043 accredits.
Various food borne diseases are quite common in Pakistan including different forms of hepatitis, typhoid, animal contact diseases, influenza, and aerosolized dust, along with soil contact diseases, it added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.