PBC advocates harmonisednational food standard

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) on Wednesday held a roundtable meeting to develop a harmonized institutional framework for food standards in Pakistan.

The meeting on ‘the Harmonization of Food and Halaal Standards’ was was attended by representatives of the federal and provincial governments. Member companies of PBC including Engro Foods, Nestle, Unilever, National Foods, Shan Foods and Lakson Group also participated.

A statement said following the devolution process of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the private sector has been overstretched by varying regulatory regimes for the food industry developed by the provinces. “The food industry is facing difficulties due to differing standards, policies and processes across the country,” it added. The key proposal put forward by the PBC was to develop a coherent institutional framework to streamline the formulation of standards, developing conformity assessments, and defining the enforcement responsibilities and registration processes nationwide.

“To achieve this, PBC proposed establishing a National Food Safety Board (NFSB) that would be headed by a chairman appointed by the Prime Minister along with members from the federating units,” the statement said.

The National Food Safety Board will provide policy guidelines and formulate a single code of Food Safety and Halaal standards.

Irrespective of whether formulating quality standards is a federal or provincial subject, the PBC pointed out that having harmonized food standards for the country was desirable.

It also stated that “Establishment of standards of weights and measures” is included in the federal legislative list enshrined in the constitution.

PBC also highlighted the constitutional provisions under rticles 143 and 151 which grants the federal government the authority to remove inconsistency between federal and provincial laws, and makes the federation responsible to create a common market in the country. Enforcement of the harmonized food standards would remain the responsibility of the federating units.

The participants of the meeting unanimously concurred in the opinion that food standards should be harmonized across the country and agreed to work toward establishing a unified system of standards. The members at the roundtable also concurred that improving harmonization will help reduce regulatory bottlenecks faced by the industry and will help develop scale and competiveness.

A national framework on harmonizing Food Safety and Halaal standards in line with international standards will bolster the food quality and help gear up exports in the food industry.  

As a way forward, the participants recommended that the matter be placed before the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for reviewing available solutions and to create a streamlined national system on Food Safety and Halaal standards.