ISLAMABAD; September 29, 2022: At a time when 33 million people have no access to even one time meal a day and others are queuing up in almost every city of Pakistan for hours for getting one bag of flour at subsidized rates, while, waste of atta (flour) worth Rs 92 billion per annum is continuing without any check and balance. Every day Aata worth 25 crore is wasted due to the lack of implementation of mandatory gazette notifications issued May 2017 by the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).
Earlier, PSQCA had issued a mandatory gazette notifications in July 2016 on the direction of Ministry of Health to stop the use of hazardous and carcinogenic packing of food items in the used cement bags in compliance with the Food Safety Agreement signed by the GOP with the WHO.
Unfortunately , PSQCA has failed in taking any practical step to get any of the above said mandatory gazette SRO’s despite lapse of five to six years from date of issuance.
The Pakistan Polypropylene Woven Sack Manufacturers Association is fighting for the past 8 years and it’s a national tragedy that PSQCA is showing criminal negligence by not implementing its mandatory notifications, especially at a time when Pakistan is facing severe Aata crisis and millions of its people are left with nothing to eat in the flood hit areas. The shortage of atta (flour) is taking a turn for the worst and the people already in financial trouble are forced to buy atta (flour) at Rs 120 per kg in major cities of Pakistan.
The Pakistan Polypropylene Woven Sack Manufacturing Association has taken up- the matter with federal minister for Food Security and Research form past 6 years with request save people from hunger and disease being the responsibility of the Ministry to get implemented PSQCA’s mandatory notifications to stop wastage of Atta and health of masses at risk from the hazardous packing for food items..
PSQCA is not moving to implement its mandatory notifications regarding packing of health hazardous for food items which is a major cause of serious diseases like cancer and hearth related serious diseases when the international agencies like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are seriously worried over the financial burden that Pakistan is going to face in its hard times on import of wheat.
Pakistan might be the only country where an authority, which is supposed to protect the national interest and implement its mandatory notifications to stop waste of staple food and save the health from hazardous packing for food items, is indifferent to imminent food shortage.
Pakistan is facing over three million tons of wheat shortage . Its left with no other option, but to get more loans from donors which are already reluctant to pay more money to Pakistan for import of wheat. In the given scenario, PSQCA’s inaction in implementation of mandatory notifications to stop waste of atta (flour) of worth Rs 92 billion plus every year is nothing, but a criminal offence and its responsible need to be investigated at the highest levels . Tariq Bashir Cheema who belongs to farmer community must take strict notice of it and get PSQCA mandatory notifications issued in 2017 implemented to stop waste of atta (flour) and 2016 to comply with WHO agreement. The continuing delay will result starvation and death from hunger in flood affected areas of the country.
