President Alvi urges food manufacturers to follow food safety requirements in accordance with national & int’l food safety standards
ISLAMABAD, June 06 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi has urged food manufacturers to follow food safety requirements in accordance with national and international food safety standards.
This was stated by President Dr. Arif Alvi in his message on the occasion of the World Food Safety Day being observed today (Wednesday). President Dr. Arif Alvi said that the World Food Safety Day is being observed this year on 7 June to draw attention towards food safety standards.
He said that it is alarming that on average 1.6 million people get sick daily due to unsafe food, whereas 340 Children, under-5 years of age, die due to preventable foodborne diseases, on average, every day. This situation is avertable and hundreds of thousands of lives can be saved by ensuring food standards, eliminating unhygienic food, and preventing foodborne risks, he said.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that we commemorate this day to highlight the importance of food safety. If our food is clean, safe and meets the nutritional requirements, it can help us live an active and healthy life. Unhealthy and adulterated food can cause various health problems putting pressure on our healthcare resources. Nutritional and safe food can also help Pakistan overcome the problems of malnutrition and stunting, besides helping prevent various foodborne diseases. Safe food can also help promote long-term human development as well as achieve several of Sustainable Development Goals, he said.
“Therefore, I would like to emphasise that we must ensure food safety in Pakistan by following food safety standards. It is a shared responsibility of the government as well as all the people involved in handling our daily food, including producers, transporters, cooks, and consumers to handle food with greater care. We need to educate our people to properly handle and prepare food, and ensure cleanliness and hygiene at home and outside. Our religion Islam also teaches us to maintain cleanliness in general, eat clean food and wash our hands before every meal. We must inculcate healthy habits among our people, especially our children, by teaching them about food safety” President Dr. Arif Alvi said.
“I would like to urge food manufacturers to follow food safety requirements in accordance with national and international food safety standards. I would also like to urge families, parents, media and teachers to educate children and people in general about food safety practices. I am hopeful that through the sincere and concerted efforts of our policymakers, food safety authorities, farmers, food business operators, cooks, teachers, students, and consumers, we would be able to ensure the provision of safer food for all of us” President Dr. Arif Alvi concluded.