DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s Standing Committee on Food on Friday reviewed the performance of the Food Department, food security measures and arrangements for ensuring the availability of safe and quality food at reasonable prices in the province.
The meeting, chaired by committee chairman and MPA Laiq Mohammad Khan, was held at the Provincial Assembly Secretariat and attended by committee members Gurpal Singh, Afshan Hussain and Shazia Jadoon.
The Food Department secretary, additional secretary, director food, director of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, officials of the Law Department and relevant Assembly officials also attended the meeting.
The secretary briefed the committee on the department’s responsibilities, ongoing initiatives and performance, saying that ensuring food security and providing safe and quality food to the people were among its core responsibilities.
The additional secretary said the department was responsible for procurement, storage, rationing and distribution of wheat and sugar, monitoring food prices, implementation of the Sugarcane Development Cess Rules, 1964, and ensuring the supply of essential commodities to urban areas.
He said the department was also using monitoring data on wheat warehouses, tandoors, flour mills, sugar and sugar mills to improve the supply system. The Digital Supply Chain Management System was also being used for price determination and monitoring.
The food director said measures were being taken to ensure adequate availability of food items and their sale at fair and reasonable prices through effective monitoring and administrative action.
The director of the Food Safety and Halal Food Authority briefed the committee on the authority’s establishment and performance. He said it had been established in 2018 and had offices in various districts.
He said the authority had testing facilities, including mobile laboratories, and regularly collected samples of food products to assess their quality.
Legal action and fines were imposed against those involved in the production or sale of substandard or hazardous food, while such products were destroyed, the meeting was told. Registration of dairy farms and other businesses involved in food production and handling was also being carried out.
Ms Afshan Hussain said the authority’s role was particularly important as its responsibilities were directly linked to public health and the provision of safe and quality food.
