Lack of supra-ministerial advisory board in Pakistan’s food safety control system makes food safety governance difficult and complex.
Strengthening Food Safety Systems in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Member Countries: Current Status, Framework, and Forward Strategies noted that the “complexity of food control systems adopted by each member country aggravates the food safety situation in the CAREC region.” Wide variations in the structure and design of food control system within the region are the result of this.
Consumers are likely to face food safety risks because the majority of the countries in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme, which includes Pakistan, have fragmented food safety control systems and limited local and international agency cooperation.
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are among the participants. The report emphasized the requirement for a more organized and functional food safety system in the area.
Regarding Pakistan, the report noted that a number of foodborne illnesses, including different types of hepatitis, typhoid, animal contact illnesses, influenza, and aerosolized dust, as well as soil contact illnesses, were quite prevalent there.
Eating contaminated food increases the risk of getting bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemical diseases, claims a 2022 World Health Organization report. The consumption of these unsafe food products is blamed for about 600 million disease cases and 420,000 fatalities annually; the majority of these cases of morbidity and mortality occur in developing countries.
While food production and processing made up about 14.4% of Pakistan’s GDP in 2020, the report notes that maintaining the agricultural sector’s economic viability in the country is still difficult because of the absence of a consistent sanitary and phytosanitary regulatory framework and harmonized food safety laws, out-of-date animal and plant health laws, subpar supply chain management, and a strong emphasis on end-product food safety testing.
Lack of a supra-ministerial advisory board in Pakistan’s food safety control system makes food safety governance difficult and complex, frequently failing to promote trade and safeguard public health. There are more than a dozen federal and provincial food laws in the United States, many of which do not address current food safety issues.
According to the report, a sizable portion of the agro-food products produced in Pakistan do not meet the requirements for food safety and animal and plant health, frequently because of high levels of chemical and pesticide residues.
Pakistan has a sufficient number of laboratories for the regulation and monitoring of food safety, some of which are equipped with basic to adequate machinery and human resource capacity. Approximately 200 laboratories carry out a range of microbiological and chemical contaminant tests of food hazards.
The ISO-17025 system has accredited more than 100 labs, giving them reference laboratory status. Public-sector laboratories are managed by the corresponding ministries.
While provincial and municipal governments oversee food safety standards for the domestic trade of food products, the federal government of Pakistan regulates food imports.