Ban on Japanese salt import lifted

The government has lifted the ban on the manufacturing and import of monosodium glutamate (MSG) following agitation and complaint from Japan.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, in pursuance of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (appellate jurisdiction) dated February 10, 2018, the import of monosodium glutamate, also called Ajinomoto salt, had been prohibited via Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 2660(1)/2018, issued on February 28, 2018.

The Ministry of Commerce was not a party to the case. However, it received the court orders through the Punjab chief secretary office for early implementation of the ruling.

In a recent meeting of the federal cabinet, the commerce ministry revealed that since the imposition of the restriction, the Japanese government and Ajinomoto had been constantly agitating against the ban at the bilateral and multilateral fora.

The company claimed that Pakistan was the only country that had imposed the ban on the import and sale of MSG without any scientific reasons. It pointed out that it had filed a review petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2020, terming the ban a limitation without discussing merits of the case.

It was noted that in response to the request of a Japanese business delegation, which called on the prime minister of Pakistan in June 2022, the PM directed the authorities concerned to resolve different issues including the curb on MSG import.

Subsequently, in a meeting chaired by a special assistant to the PM, held in March 2023, the Ministry of Commerce was directed to constitute a technical-cum-expert committee to examine and study the health and safety aspects of MSG.

It was also directed that in case the committee recommended that MSG was a safe food additive, the ministry should send a summary to the cabinet for seeking its approval for filing a review petition in the Supreme Court through the Attorney General of Pakistan.

The Ministry of Commerce apprised the cabinet that as per directives of the Prime Minister's Office, the expert committee was constituted with representatives from the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, National Agricultural Research Centre, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, National University of Sciences and Technology, Institute of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and Board of Investment.

Following examination of the research, scientific data and recommendations of the World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation, United States Food and Drug Administration and regulations of the European Union on the safety of MSG, experts in their final report concluded that it was evidently clear that MSG was a safe food additive. Furthermore, globally it is believed to be a seafood ingredient.

Therefore, based on the scientific literature and the potential negative effect on trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Japan, a plea may be filed before the Supreme Court against its decision, which imposed the ban on the manufacturing and import of MSG in Pakistan.

The Ministry of Commerce, on the advice of the Cabinet Division, sought views of the Law and Justice Division and Attorney General of Pakistan.

The cabinet was informed that based on the findings and fresh evidence presented by the expert committee, the minister for commerce recommended that the matter should be discussed further.

In light of that, the Ministry of Commerce submitted a proposal, saying that the cabinet may deliberate on whether to allow the import of MSG based on recommendations of the expert committee.

Consequently, the cabinet decided that the ban must be lifted. It may also allow the filing of a review petition against the orders of the Supreme Court through the Attorney General of Pakistan. The expert committee will provide technical assistance in the matter.

The cabinet considered a summary titled "Recommendations of the Committee of Experts regarding Ban on Manufacturing and Import of Monosodium Glutamate", submitted by the Commerce Division, and approved the proposal.