May 26, 2005

Many a times the products do not have an expiry date to indicate their shelf life. It is also rumoured that the shop owners deliberately erase the date to sell these products for a longer period of time, writes Marium Nazir

The local market is inundated with products and at times the buyer gets confused as to which company to trust for safe products. With the double digit rise in inflation, all products are sold at competitive prices and those that are sold at a lower price are ruled out by the buyer as being substandard.

Many a times the products do not have en expiry date to indicate their shelf life. It is also rumoured that the shop owners deliberately erase the date to sell these products for a longer period of time. There is also a problem of counterfeit beauty products and adulterated food items that are being sold openly in the market. In order to address all these issues and to create public awareness, a five-day Health and Beauty Expo was organized in the city recently.

Inaugurated by Mehtab Rashdi, the main feature of the expo were the seminars that were held every day to convey the message. Rashdi appreciated the steps taken to create awareness about this serious issue and hoped that such events would be organized in future as well so that people become aware of issues pertaining to their health.

Experts from Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), PSQCA, The Helpline Trust, leading multinationals and eminent doctors represented their respective fields and shared their viewpoints regarding safe and healthy products. The Honorary Secretary General, Pakistan Medical Association, Dr Qaisar Sajjad opened the session and warned people against the use of adulterated food items.

He also emphazied the boiling of water before use and said that it should be kept for ten minutes at boiling point and should be consumed within 24 hours. He warned against the use of tap water saying that it should not be consumed directly as water borne diseases are on the rise. Dr Sajjad further elaborated that one should not eat anything from street vendors as these are the breeding grounds for many diseases.

Recently a lot of hue and cry has been raised regarding the consumption of pan, chalia and ghutka and Dr Sajjad also warned against their intake as these can cause life threatening diseases.

Open milk sold by shops was also not considered safe and it was highlighted that only sealed and tetra packed milk should be used. The former had no nutritional value and could be hazardous for the health of children.

Dr Henna, a dentist, stressed that there are toothpastes available in the market containing bleach to make the teeth whiter. It did work for a short span of time but later resulted in many mouth and gum diseases and the destruction of teeth altogether.

Apart from seminars there was also an exhibition in which stalls were set up by the leading companies related to the field of health and beauty. The organizer Gina Hasan, said that the reason for the seminar was to jolt the public and make them aware of the health hazards that can be avoided with people paying more attention to what was happening around them.

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