MURREE
Speakers at a national seminar stressed the need for creating awareness among people about the importance of fortified edible oil and role of edible oil industry and public sector food regulatory bodies in implementing, scaling up, sustaining and institutionalizing oil fortification with vitamins A&D.
The workshop was titled “National Workshop on Edible Oil Fortification” organized by the Nutrition International (NI) in collaboration with relevant authorities from four provinces, National Fortification Alliance and Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA). The workshop held at Pearl-Continental hotel Bhurban.
The senior government officials from provincial food authorities, PVMA, academia, media persons and researchers across the country participated in the workshop.
Agha Fakhar Hussain, Director General Sindh Food Authority, Shahrukh Ali Khan, DG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Authority, Muhammad Naeem Bazai, DG Balochistan Food Authority, Muhammad Zaman Wattoo, Secretary Food Department Punjab and Mansoor Qadir Dar, Secretary Food Azad Jammu and Kashmir were prominent among those who shed lights over the importance of nutrition importance and government steps for legislation and regulation regarding food fortification.
The speaker underlined the importance of proven, safe and cost-effective strategy for improving diet and for the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies, adding that food fortification, the practice of adding vitamins and minerals to commonly consumed foods during processing to increase their nutrient value, awareness necessary step for the healthy life.
The speakers highlighted the impacts of loose, unprocessed and unhygienic on human health and reiterated pragmatic measures including legislation and regulation to control them.
Dr Khawaja Masuood, National Coordinator, National Fortification Alliance & Nutrition, shared with the participants that malnutrition affects more than 50 percent women and children of Pakistan. Mr Khwaja also linked social and economic prosperity to efficient nutrient food consumption.
Chairman PVMA appreciated the efforts of Nutrition International in organizing the workshop and shared that micronutrient deficiencies were increasing at an alarming rate, and called for efforts to address this problem.
He also highlighted the availability of loose oil in bulk amounts in the market that is unhygienic, unfortified, and unhealthy and requested all Food Authorities to take action against the loose oil traders to curtail their share in the market.
At the end, Sheraz Akram Bacha, Special Assistant to Chief Minister KP for Food lauded the role of government authorities, Nutrition International and all stockholders for taking measures in scaling up edible oil fortification in Pakistan.
Sheraz Akram Bacha maintained that the provincial government would take all possible steps for food fortification and departments concerned would be assisted for devising and implementing different strategies about awareness on the issue.
Caption for the pic: Murree: CM-KP aide Sheraz Akram Bacha distributes shields among participants of workshop
