Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Food Saftey and Halal Food Authority (FS&HFA) in collaboration with the Food Department has been working to introduce legislation on food fortification in the province.
This was revealed by FS&HFA Director General Shahrukh Ali Khan Wednesday, adding that they were already working on the draft bill in this regard.
He claimed that with approval of the proposed bill the implementation of food fortification will help government in overcoming the deficiency of nutrients in food, reducing a number of health complications.
Shahrukh expressed these views while addressing review meeting of food fortification organized by Nutrition International in Peshawar.
DG Food Safety Authority said we are facing a number of challenges in ensuring safe food to the people, which along with personal, premises and food hygiene also include chemical contamination of food.
For the availability of fortified food in the market there is a need of creating demand for it, which could be done by spreading awareness related to its benefits among the general public.
He claimed that the authority is further strengthening its technical capacity, and seven mobile food testing laboratories will be operational soon in the divisional headquarters of the province. While work on the static laboratory in Hayatabad is also in full swing.
The event was attended by experts from various fields including health, food, public health among others. While addressing the event Dr Khwaja Masood Ahmad said 70 per cent of the population in our country cannot afford nutritious food and public health can be affected in case of deficiency of Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, and Zinc.
He said the deficiency may result in malnutrition, anemia, neural tube defects, hair loss, weak immune system among others.
Dr Khwaja Masood said various food items can be fortified easily in cost effective manner, which will not put any burden on consumers.
In Pakistan the fortification mainly focuses on salt, oil, ghee and flour. He said the Nutrition International is working with targeted mills for the purpose.
Director Nutrition, Dr Fazal Majeed said the implementation of food fortification is our collective responsibility and each of us should actively play their role for the welfare of the general public. He said awareness could play a very important role in it, and the public should be engaged through various platforms.
It is worth mentioning here that the government previously introduced fortified flour and iodized salt in the province but these efforts were not successful as the general public didn’t show any interest in it.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2021.
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