LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on Thursday introduced an innovative online food safety training programme for women designed to empower women by equipping them with the skills to start small-scale food businesses, contributing to economic stability at household level.

The programme was inaugurated by Special Assistant to Chief Minister Salma Butt and DG Punjab Food Authority Asim Javed.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Salma Butt emphasized the transformative potential of this initiative, highlighting that women can now access free food safety training from the comfort of their homes. She also noted the alarming global statistics of food-borne illnesses, with 600 million people falling ill and 420,000 losing their lives annually due to substandard food. She praised DG Asim Javed for his dedication and efforts in enhancing PFA’s performance.

Asim Javed highlighted nutritional challenges in Pakistan, citing that 41% of women suffer from iron deficiency according to the National Nutrition Survey. He called for a nutrition emergency, stressing that poor eating habits severely impact immunity, capacity and mental health.

Under the Punjab Food Authority’s ongoing initiatives, 450,000 food handlers have received training with a target to train 600,000 individuals by June 2025. Additionally, over 10,000 children have been trained in healthy eating habits under the School Nutrition Programme. This new programme focuses on grassroots improvement by offering free training on kitchen hygiene, nutrition awareness and meal preparation in Urdu through the Electronic Learning Management System (ELMS).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025