The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore in collaboration with Punjab Food Authority (PFA) and Nutrition International arranged a national seminar to mark world Food safety day with the theme of “Safer Food, Better Health” to promote awareness on the importance of food safety and highlighted key steps being undertaken to control the risks of foodborne diseases among general public and students here in city Campus.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad and Director General Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Muhammad Shoaib Khan Jadoon co-chaired the seminar while Chairman Department of Food Sciences Dr Sanaullah Iqbal, Additional Director General Technical (PFA) Ghulam Mustafa Dogar and experts from public & private sector, various organizations, faculty members and a large number of students attended the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Shoaib Khan Jadoon said that Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of milk in world and the Punjab Food Authority is confiscating a large quantity of adulterated milk and discarding this across the province on daily basis. He shared that the authority is working with industry and consumers to promote the culture of food safety by preventing the sale of adulterated, unsafe and loose food in the markets.
Prof Dr Nasim Ahmed said that it was a positive contribution and an indication that the government is giving due importance to food safety. He said a good knowledge of food safety helps the masses to prevent and detect illness that is usually caused by consumption of unsafe food. It is the responsibility of every consumer, food handler and regulator to contribute in addressing food safety issues, he added. Ghulam Mustafa Dogar stressed upon students to implement the learning from this seminar in their daily lives and play their role in improving the culture of food safety.
Earlier Mr Zameer Haider from Nutrition International shared his views on inextricable linkages between nutrition and food safety and highlighted that food safety is everyone’s responsibility.
Dr Sanaullah Iqbal highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the issues of malnutrition and food safety at the grass root level and making efforts to jointly address this issue with academia.
