Sir: It is really good to know that the outgoing Sindh government of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) established the Sindh Food Authority (SFA), through the Sindh Food Authority Act of 2016 which was passed by the Provincial Assembly of Sindh in March 2017, and assented by the Governor of Sindh a month later. The scope of the Act extends to the whole province and the authority has already started its operational activities a short time after getting its approval from the provincial leaders.
Recently there have been many stories in the media about the many substandard and unhygienic food items that are prepared, served and sold at the many so-called popular restaurants, bakeries and small and large scale food factories across Sindh, especially the major cities like Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur etc.
Before the establishment of the SFA, there was no exclusive body or institution at the provincial level to monitor and supervise the quality of many commercially sold food/eatable items. I am quite hopeful that now the Sindh Food Authority is allowed to exercise its full control over the quality of many commercially prepared and sold food/eatable items, in the so-called neat and clean kitchens of the restaurants, bakeries and factories of the province.
At the moment the SFA is conducting only its initial investigations in to alleged malpractices within the food industry, so if the food /eatable items in question are found to be unhygienic and of substandard quality, then in the start only a strict warning is issued to the owners/ relevant persons of these units. But, if the problem persists in subsequent visits and the owners refuse to follow the laws, then a heavy fine can be imposed on them as well.
However, in my opinion, the main focus of the Sindh Food Authority should be on improving the quality of the food /eatable items prepared at these units, rather than keep fining the proprietors of such establishments that make subpar food items. In many cases it has been observed that these people would rather pay a fine, than do anything to improve the actual quality of their food. If the SFA can ensure that then I would consider them a success.
ABDUL SAMAD SAMO
Karachi
Published in Daily Times, July 28th 2018.
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