Halal certification: PFA to check imported,local products

LAHORE :Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has planned to start checking of imported and local food products as well as cosmetics and other products across the province to give them Halal certification.

Recently, Halal Food Authority (HFA) gave powers to PFA to check Food Products Halal Certification. Following the new powers, PFA announced compulsory sample checking, lab analysis and quality test for edibles several times in a year for edible processors and packagers. PFA also announced a periodic schedule for sampling and its Director General Noorul Amin Mengal has directed his staff across the province as well as the processors and packagers to follow that schedule.

Noor ul Amin Mengal said that PFA has initiated the training programme for the food safety officers regarding Halal food products regulations and checking. The training is being carried out on the rules and procedures for declaring food products as "Halal.'' “Punjab Food Authority will render full support to the Halal Food Authority to ensure the provision of Halal food and non-food products to the people,” he said while talking with The News here Sunday. Noorul Amin Mengal added that Halal certification of imported edibles would also be ensured.

Mengal revealed that PFA would also monitor law enforcement regarding all items, including meat while the food items would be checked to be lawful for the colours and other ingredients used in the manufacture of edibles as well. In addition to the food items, cosmetics and other imported products will also be checked by PFA, he announced.

PFA Director General Noor ul Amin Mengal said that this move was a step towards completing the Healthy Punjab Mission. Mengal maintained that the new sampling and testing schedule would be applicable to all food products from 2018. He said all food samples would be collected from market in the presence of company’s officials by following blind-sampling method. “As a result of this procedure, food products in compliance with Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2017 will be registered and registration certificates will be issued to them, whereas, remaining food items shall not be allowed for sale in the provincial markets,” Mengal said.

A senior PFA official said that according to the schedule, ice cream, juice nectar (drink), fruits made beverages and edible ghee and oil products would be checked four times in a year. Desserts, toppings, tap water of Wasa, carbonated beverages, meat-made items, sauce, squash, fruits and vegetables (canned) would be checked twice a year and vinegar, pickles and malted beverages will be checked once a year.

Meanwhile, PFA has also started a series of workshops for food industry and food workers in which the PFA’s food safety trainers will give lectures on food safety and emphasise them to adopt necessary steps to ensure the quality of food. The workshops will also shed light on food-borne illness, personal hygiene Ppractices, purchasing and receiving of raw material, storage of food, preparation of food material, services, equipment and facilities, cleaning and sanitising, integrated pest management and packaging and labeling. PFA Director General Noor ul Amin Mengal revealed that PFA had created a Whatsapp group for food safety ambassadors (FSAs) in which students would share pictures and footages related to food safety and draw attention towards unhygienic food issues. He said that purpose of the Whatsapp group was to build bridge of confidence and awareness between the authority and students, engaged as FSAs from different academia.

DG PFA concluded that food safety could be ensured by two -pronged strategy, one is operations which has only 5 percent role in food safety while the remaining 95 pc is awareness through which consumers could be kept away from the food that was injurious to health.