Islamabad to get food authority soon

Pilot programme on street food safety launched

ISLAMABAD: To standardise the quality of food being served in the capital, the Islamabad Capital Territory would soon get a dedicated food authority.

This was disclosed by Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation Mayor and Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz on Friday at the launch of the Pilot Street Food Safety Programme for Islamabad organised by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).



Aziz said that the food authority, as suggested by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, would make sure only clean, hygienic and healthy food items were available in the markets for consumption by the general public.

The authority, he said, would ensure that the quality of food currently being sold in the market was up to the required standards and eradicate viral and other diseases in unhygienic food.

Aziz lamented how, despite the existence of food safety laws, around 300,000 children under five years of age died every year from diarrhoea — which was caused by unhygienic conditions including food contamination.

The introductory workshop, held to launch the programme, was being conducted to bring all stakeholders together and form a suitable policy which would ensure availability of safe and healthy food.

FAO Pakistan representative Patrick Evans said a healthy environment, where only hygienic food was produced and sold, could only be achieved through cumulative efforts.

“We have to work together to make needs assessment, raise awareness, build capacity and effectively monitor, in order to improve livelihoods of those involved in the street food business,” Evans said, adding that it was important to make street food safe to eat.

Participants from the health and education sector highlighted that with growing trade, industrialisation, urbanisation and economic prosperity, eating behaviours and lifestyles had changed. More people were frequently dining out as opposed to cooking and eating food at home.

However, a majority of food vendors were ignorant about personal and food hygiene and use substandard food additives (colours and flavourings), which could seriously threaten human health.



Realising the fragile food safety situation of the country, the UN FAO in collaboration with the ministries of Planning, National Food Security and the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation had launched the PSFSP for the capital.

The programme would map street food vendors in the capital, conduct a field survey to assess the food safety situation of street vendors, develop a food safety training manual for street vendors, build capacity of street vendors and develop a food safety policy for the capital.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2017.