Awareness programs on food safety management system and environmental management system were organised by the System Certification Centre (SCC) of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) here from October 23 to November 1.
Participants, belonging to various industrial sectors, attended these programs where presentations were given on relevant global issues, requirements of the industrial standards and its implementation in different business sectors. Practical exercises were a significant feature of these training sessions which made the interpretation of the clauses of the standards quite clear to the participants.
Organising such courses in the backdrop of trade related challenges facing the exporters in Pakistan is a significant step by PSQCA to help Pakistani firms to develop dynamic exporting capabilities. In Pakistan, the most commonly standard applied by industry is ISO 9000, followed by ISO 14000.
The lack of certification, especially for food safety such as HACCP and now ISO 22000, and application of other food safety practices explains partially why fish exports to the European Union countries have been limited. In future, SCC plans to cover occupational health and safety, social compliance, information security management systems, etc, for the benefit of local enterprises to reduce Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).