K-P sets up food safety authority

Food manufacturers, distributors to be lisenced in three categories

PESHAWAR: In a bid to standardise the quality of food being produced and sold in the market, the provincial government has finally set up the Food Safety and Halal Food Authority.

Set up under the Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Food Safety and Halal Food Authority Act 2017, the body will formulate standards, procedures, processes, and guidelines for food labelling, food additives and other food-related enforcement. It will monitor and regulate the manufacture, storage and distribution of food around the province. It will also regulate the regional sales and imports.

The authority will have a central directorate in Peshawar apart from seven divisional headquarters across the province.



Food Safety and Halal Food Authority (K-PFSHFA) Director General Riaz Mehsud stated they have divided food businesses into three categories — A, B and C.

Category-A includes enterprises dealing with margarine, vanaspati, fat spreads, halal animal fat, ghee, fish oil, edible oil, spices, cereal products, soft drinks, aerated water, fruits and vegetables, food additives and ingredients and cold storages.

Category-B covers creameries, dairies, dairy farms, bakers, hotels, eateries and other small-scale food companies. Category-C contains food manufacturing units.

To test the quality of food products being manufactured or sold in the province, Mehsud said that they have three types of laboratories including scientific, appellate and medical.

Moreover, field staff can also conduct an on-the-spot medical test of food handlers at production units, eateries and kitchens. Mehsud added that the authority has been mandated by law to issue licences to food operators in these categories.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2017.