- By : Faiq Ali Shah
Use of ITFAs is a silent enemy, due to this problem, Pakistan is not only facing challenges in the health sector but it is also having a profound impact on the economy. In 2015, economic losses due to obesity were estimated at Rs 428 billion, which indicates that the problem has become a major obstacle to the country’s development. In view of this situation, the government has started several measures to improve the quality of food and provide a healthy life to the people. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also started taking steps to check the health and quality of food items of the citizens. For the first time in the history of the province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Authority has completed a testing campaign to check the quality of papad, chips and spices. A crackdown has been started on the instructions. In the seasoning powder of spices and pops, the presence of cancer-causing aflatoxins in up to 30% samples, more than 50% of pops/humids have also been found to be substandard. In this regard, a few days ago, a meeting of Food Safety and Halal Food Authority was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, in which important decisions were taken for public health.
During the meeting, the Halal Food Authority presented a report to the Chief Minister regarding non-standard and unhealthy fast food, consumption of substandard ghee, chips, papad, salt and spices in the province. In the meeting, it was decided to take action against these unregistered and unpacked products in the markets. In the first phase, the factories manufacturing these products will be registered. A month’s deadline will be set, effective monitoring and checking of factories will be done to ensure food safety standards, while heavy fines will be imposed on factories that do not comply with food safety standards.
According to the Food Authority officials, in the next phase, non-registration and sale of products that do not meet the required standards will be banned in the market. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority said during the meeting that the pops chops testing campaign has been completed, for the first fifteen days of its kind in the history of the province, pops, chips and spices testing campaigns were conducted. Samples were taken and checked, samples of 175 pops, 24 namco, 160 seasoning powder and 103 curry powder were checked, 93 of the 175 samples of pops were found to be satisfactory and 82 were declared substandard. Gone, 16 out of 24 samples of Namco were reported while 8 samples were reported failed. Out of 160 samples of seasoning powder, 131 were found to be satisfactory and 29 were declared substandard. While 29 failed, 46.2 percent of pops, 33.3 percent of salt, 18.1 percent of seasoning powder and 28.1 percent of samples of curry powder were found to be substandard.
In the same meeting, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur clarified that the protection of public health is the primary responsibility of the government, there will be no compromise on it, no one’s business will be closed or damaged but not at the cost of public health. The use of substandard and harmful products poses serious threats to public health, a comprehensive plan should be set up to make the industries producing substandard and harmful health products bound by food security stands, according to the federal government, the implementation of the best policies is among the priorities so that trans fats (TFAs) from food items are eliminated. Can be done.
Although the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority has made significant progress in defining the TFA limits in recent times, there are still several dozen products that are likely to be present with industrial trans fats. These products include salty snacks, sweets, chocolates and other processed foods, which are harmful to health and are not yet included in the scope of these standards.
The government of Pakistan is taking all possible steps to build a healthy and prosperous nation. These steps include limiting the amount of TFA in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization, making front-of-pack labeling mandatory on all processed foods, promoting healthy food alternatives, and conducting public awareness campaigns.
Medical and scientific research has clearly proven that the consumption of trans fats causes heart diseases, diabetes, and other fatal diseases. According to the World Health Organization, about 500,000 people worldwide die every year from heart diseases caused by the consumption of trans fats. This problem is also serious in Pakistan, where the rate of unhealthy diet and obesity is continuously increasing. The presence of industrial trans fats in processed foods and street foods available in Pakistan is a major threat to public health. The poor quality oil and ghee used in these items cause other health problems besides heart diseases. Especially the younger generation, which is mostly inclined towards processed foods and fast foods, is being more affected by this threat. Experts say that it is very important to convince the public that a healthy diet will not only improve their lives but will also have a positive impact on the country’s economy. If these measures are implemented effectively, Pakistan can not only turn the dream of a healthy nation into a reality but can also set an example at the global level.