AVN Report
Islamabad: The National Alliance for Safe Food (NASF) hosted a National Dialogue on Food Safety to enhance awareness and understanding of food safety issues among producers, consumers, industry stakeholders, and other participants.
The dialogue, themed “Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected,” was organized in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN) Islamabad, Riphah Institute of Public Policy, Islamabad Food Authority (IFA), and Shafaq Cooking Oil (A&Z Agro Industries). This year’s theme stresses the importance of preparedness for food safety incidents, regardless of their severity.
The event aimed to commemorate World Food Safety Day by promoting awareness and understanding of food safety issues among producers, consumers, and industry stakeholders. World Food Safety Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, is celebrated annually on June 7.
Speakers at the event highlighted the issues surrounding food-borne illnesses, which affect 600 million people and cause 420,000 preventable deaths each year. The dialogue focused on addressing these issues to promote food safety as a means to save lives and bolster food security and trade.
The dialogue brought together leading regulatory bodies, ministers and secretaries, trade associations, policymakers, advisors, consuls general, INGOs, political leaders, academicians, scientists, researchers, and business stakeholders. Participants shared their experiences and best practices for competing in the global market.
The recommendations from the dialogue included concrete suggestions and shared experiences, which will be documented and disseminated to policymakers, legislators, academia, industry, and relevant national and international organizations for execution and implementation. These efforts aim to contribute to the growth and development of the national economy.
