Sindh Food Authority (SFA) Director Operations Abrar Ahmed Sheikh has urged the owners of all eateries, restaurants, bakeries and other food-related businesses to improve hygienic conditions in their business premises and provide safe and healthy food to the public otherwise strict action will continue to be taken.
"There will be no compromise over quality and hygienic conditions," he said, speaking at a meeting during his visit to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
KCCI president Junaid Esmail Makda, senior vice president Khurram Shahzad, vice president Asif Sheikh Javaid, former president AQ Khalil, former vice president Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, chairman All Pakistan Restaurants Association Shaukat Ali Omerson, Managing Committee members and a large number of businessmen associated with food-related businesses also attended the meeting.
The SFA official said it is impossible that the eatery owners are not aware of the shortcomings. He said they know what is going wrong and they simply cannot deny it. He said they ignore it and do not take remedial measures and continue to play with lives of the masses by providing unhygienic and hazardous food which cannot be tolerated.
"SFA works under a transparent mechanism in which the working parameters for food technologists and food safety officers have been defined in such a manner that leave absolutely no room for any kind of under the table deal, therefore, all businessmen associated with food businesses should stop thinking of bribing the officers and must rectify their shortcomings, improve hygienic conditions and provide healthy food to the masses otherwise they will be taken to task by the Authority," he warned.
Abrar Sheikh said that SFA never seals any business premises immediately after identifying hygiene and food quality related shortcomings as the authority initially issues an improvement notice and also raises awareness about the hygiene and food quality requirements, which is followed by a warning notice and penalty if the eatery owners fail to improve. Subsequently, if the eatery owners continue to avoid taking corrective steps even after the imposition of penalty and warning notice, it leaves no other option for SFA but to seal the business premises under Section 45 of CrPC that results in temporary suspension of commercial activities until all the SFA requirements are complied, he elaborated.
"We also want to promote the ease of doing business but no compromise will be made over food quality and hygienic conditions. It is high time to change that has become inevitable now," he said, adding that SFA firmly believes in consultation rather than taking decisions in isolation, which is the basic reason why SFA carries out awareness drives prior to issuing any warning notice or imposing penalty.
He said work at SFA was in progress for setting up a world-class state-of-the-art laboratory where the facility to carry out all forms of tests and verifications would be available and that would be acceptable globally. He said vegetables being cultivated by using the sewage water cannot be tolerated which was a very serious issue, therefore, the SFA has decided to initiate a massive drive in which all such productions would be completely bulldozed and strategies would be devised to make sure that no sewage water is used in future for cultivation of vegetables.
Seeking KCCI's support to SFA, Abrar Sheikh urged that both institutions would have to work closely to create a healthier society. "We need KCCI's support, otherwise we cannot move forward", he said.
Speaking on the occasion, KCCI president Junaid Esmail Makda said that Karachi Chamber has been successfully playing the role of a bridge between the business community and SFA; therefore, any grievance being faced by businessmen be brought to the Chamber's notice so that the issue could be amicably resolved. "The authorities at Sindh Food Authority must also work closely with KCCI and carry out all its operation in consultation with KCCI in order to create an enabling business environment," he suggested.
Makda also underscored the need to adopt uniform policies by all the food authorities across Pakistan as it has been observed that these policies vary in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, creating a confusing situation for businessmen.
Referring to SFA operation largely confined to Karachi only, he said, the department should also expand its operations to other cities of Sindh where hundreds of people were suffering terribly due to unhygienic and low-quality food stuff.
He also emphasised the need to raise awareness about fortification of flour, ghee and oil among the masses, particularly millers, traders, retailers and wholesalers as millions of people mostly women and children across the country were suffering terribly due to severe malnutrition.
Referring to Prime Minister's first speech to the nation, Junaid Makda said that PM Imran Khan quoted a report of the UNDP which reads that Pakistan is amongst the top five countries in the world where children die because of malnutrition.
"It is really unfortunate that 45 percent of Pakistani children, almost every other child, suffer from this disease," he lamented.
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