The Pakistan Business Council has proposed the creation of an inter-provincial committee under the Ministry of Science and Technology for formulation of harmonized national food standards in line with the Codex Alimentarius. The committee should include representatives of the respective provincial food authorities and the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the council's CEO, Ehsan A Malik, said in a letter to the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination. He asked for the proposal to be sent on to the Council of Common Interest.
The PSQCA, which operates under the ministry, is charged with developing and overseeing national standards. He pointed out that after the 18th Amendment the right to legislate the food manufacturing industry rests with the provinces, and unless steps are taken to manage this, there could be multiple and conflicting regimes of food regulations in Pakistan. In turn, this could prevent national foods companies from operating freely across provinces, he added.
As a result, he said, food companies will have to pass on the additional cost to consumers, he warned. At the same time, it will not be possible to control the flow of products from one province to another as distribution is outsourced and often in the hand of wholesalers.
The CEO said that the practice of varied provincial food laws is not in consonance with constitutional requirements and the spirit of Article 151, which is designed to facilitate a single market in the country. Nor do multiple foods laws permit Pakistan to comply with its international commitments under WTO agreements, he added. The CEO asked for this issue to be brought up at the Council of Common Interest as it impacts the entire food manufacturing sector of Pakistan.
Any directions from the provinces, which are not in line with federal standards mandated by the PSQCA, should be withdrawn until consensus is reached on how to proceed, he said. He proposed that one national standard should be adopted by all provinces and its implementation overseen by the provincial food authorities.