Food safety vital to tap global market

Experts say Pakistan can become major player by meeting world standards

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has immense potential in food business and can capture world market by adopting safety requirements and meeting global standards.

These views were expressed by speakers at a virtual event on Monday to mark World Food Safety Day.

Experts, on the occasion, said that safe food contributes to a healthy life, a healthy economy, a healthy planet and a healthy future. They stressed the need for local actions based on equitable novel solutions and strengthened multi-sectoral collaboration, which were essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Addressing the event, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Pakistan Rebekah Bell said that Pakistan needs to ensure food safety throughout the agriculture value chain from farm to fork level.

“We are currently relying on fresh produce, but by improving food storage and processing capacity ensuring principles of food safety, Pakistan has a lot of potential to increase food exports and generating income for the farmers and revenue for the country,” she added.

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Meanwhile, Ministry of National Food Security and Research Additional Secretary Syed Anwarul Haq emphasised on building a better food system, which would not only improve health but also impact increasing food and agricultural products exports and achieve high place in the global market.

“If food safety requirements in Pakistan meet global standards, there is a great potential for food business operators from Pakistan to be major players in the entire world,” he added.