ISLAMABAD -  In order to become more prosperous, Pakistan should come up with a uniform policy on food safety, stressed the participants of a seminar on “Food safety and harmonisation” held here on Wednesday.

The representatives from Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Institute of Health highlighted that having various standards in every province created problems for the industry and barriers in sustainable industry development. They said that after China-Pakistan Economic Corridor the challenges in the food sector needed immediate attention.

Professor Imtiaz said, according to the WHO data, around 2.2 million people die every year, due to food-borne diseases. He said by handling, preparation, and storing food according to internationally-prescribed standards, food-borne health risks could be avoided.

Awilo Ochieng Pernet, chairperson, Codex Alimentarius said that she was pleased to know that Pakistan’s first food security legislation was in parliamentary process.

She emphasised that inefficient implementation of laws result in inadequate consumer health and trade barriers. The Codex Alimentarius, or “Food Code” is a collection of standards, guidelines and codes of practice adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The participants highlighted food challenges faced in Pakistan due to illiteracy, poverty absence of laws and weak governance.

Perent answering a question said that infant formula milk was not at all a substitute of the mother’s milk, however, if it was not available due to any reason, the powdered formula milk prepared in the guidelines of international standards should be considered as substitute.

Participants highlighted that if any of the stakeholders in the food chain did not adhere to standards the food might become poison.

If cow is fed with inadequate food, or injected hormones, or if vegetables are watered with industrial waste, the food would make the consumer ill instead of providing him nutrition, the CODEX head said.

According to a survey by the International Food Policy Research Institute, around 22 per cent of Pakistan’s population was found undernourished.

According to the WHO, malnutrition in Pakistan is a complex, multi-sectoral problem and its major root causes are under-nutrition due to deficiencies in energy, protein, and micronutrients.

Many believe packed milk, packed food, vegetables grown on industrial waste water, adulteration in milk, hormones therapies to cows and poultry animals are responsible for the malnutrition in majority of the population, which instead of getting nutrition from the food get sick.