ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has taken notice of the news published in couple of leading English Newspapers regarding the “import of expired Indian mango pulp”.

The Ministry was asked to probe the matter, consequently the Ministry of National Food Security and Research made thorough investigation of the matter, says a statement issued here on Thursday.

In this backdrop the official stance of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research is as follows: Mango pulp is a regulatory article under Plant Quarantine Act (PAQ) 1976 and Plant Quarantine Rule (PAR) 1967 which is enforced by Department of Plant Protection (DPP) M/o NFS &R.

For further assurance and strict compliance, SRO 1067(i)/2017 dated 20th October, 2017 was issued and amendments were made in the Import Permit Policy Order, 2016 to give clarity to the Custom of Pakistan and all stake holders regarding import of all agro products in the country.

Furthermore, for the import of mango pulp, there is a mandatory requirement of a valid import permit from DPP, valid Phyto-sanitary Certificate from exporting country and Plant Protection Release Order (PPRO) of DPP, before releasing the consignment by the Custom authorities.

The Ministry of National Food Security through its attached departments has probed the matter after the news item was published and hence clarified that neither the DPP, has given any Import Permit nor has given any PPRO for entry in the country.

However, it is assumed that without doing needful, the said consignment was released in clear violation of PQA 1976 and PQR 1967 and SRO 1067(i)/2017.  It is further reiterated that there is no role of Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding import of expired mango pulp in the country.

However, the Ministry is taking up the matter with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provincial Food Authorities to further probe the matter and take appropriate action defined in relevant laws/regulations.