Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Minister Zaheer Shah Toru chaired a comprehensive review meeting of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority on Monday in Peshawar regarding their activities and ongoing projects.
The Minister ensured the provision of quality and safe food to the people in the market and directed the concerned officials to take necessary measures in this regard. Zaheer Shah said that the Provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is taking priority measures to increase the capacity of food safety and halal food services. The minister said that seven mobile food testing laboratories are functioning in the field and five more mobile food laboratories will be opened soon along with advanced laboratories.
During the briefing, Director General of Food Services Wasif Saeed and Director of Administration Ishtiaq Khan and Technical Director Dr. Abdul Sattar Shah gave detailed information about the work and projects under the authority. Saeed said that the latest phase of work on the modern laboratory and the procurement of five mobile food testing laboratories will soon be completed for on-site testing of food products.
The minister said the food security team is working in 21 districts of the province and plans to expand to six more districts including the merged districts. The CEO also said that they are creating public awareness about junk food products and balanced diet through the nutrition wing.
In addition, the Food Service is actively working on standardization for the halal certification of food establishments. It also introduced a star rating system for restaurants, dairy and butcher shops, which has been tested in Peshawar and rolled out to other districts.
Minister focused on the timely completion of ongoing projects and stressed on transparency. He said that the provincial government is fully committed to ensuring the availability of quality food products for residents and using the available resources in this area.
