Speakers at a training workshop called for adopting food safety measures, saying that 600 million people globally get sick every year due to food contaminated with viruses, parasites, chemicals and toxins.

Speakers at a training workshop called for adopting food safety measures, saying that 600 million people globally get sick every year due to food contaminated with viruses, parasites, chemicals and toxins. The one-day workshop on food safety was arranged by National Institute of Food Sciences and Technology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad in collaboration with Pepsico. Addressing as the Chief Guest, UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that unhygienic food is causing various diseases and malnutrition in Pakistan. He called for a strategy to fulfill safety standards to ensure quality food and stressed upon the need to enhance the awareness among the masses on the issue. He said that foodborne diseases cause short-term to long term illness like diarrhoea, cancer, liver and kidney failure etc. He said that according to World Health Organization , 420,000 die from tainted food annually in the world. He said that measures of safe foods are essential to avoid trade sanctions on export of agriculture and food products. He said that the trend of contaminating food in Pakistan was much. He said that besides the food contamination, malnutrition in the country was on the rise. People are unaware with the healthy food habit and lifestyle that is aggravating the issue of the malnutrition. He said that around half of children and women are suffering from the deficiency of vitamins and zinc. He said that establishment of Punjab Food Authority was a good step to address the issue. Dean Faculty of Food Sciences Prof Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said that awareness about food safety measures needed special attention of the academia, experts, civil society and policy makers. He said that University had kicked a Master program in food safety in order to produce the skilled manpower in the discipline so that issue can be addressed effectively. Pepsico Supply Development and Commercialization Manager Izhar-ul-Haq Awan said that 40 students of universities will be offered internship at their organization to get the practical knowledge. Prof Dr Tahir Zahoor and Dr Muhammad Atif Randhawa also spoke on the occasion.