KARACHI: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) has been asked to take notice of illegal import of expired Indian mango pulp, which is highly dangerous for human consumption.

In a letter to the ministry, All Pakistan Fruits and Vegetables Exporters, Im­­por­­ters and Merchants Asso­ciation (PFVA) Patron-in-Chief Waheed Ahmed stated that some officials in the Import Clearance Depart­ment of Customs had allowed import of Indian mango pulp from Oman. “And the same is now being supplied to various cities in Punjab via trucks,” he cautioned.

Around 200-250 tonnes of Indian mango pulp packed in blue-coloured drums had expiry dates of Dec 12, 2018 and Jan 2019, he said.

Waheed said the illegal import of Indian product is also a threat to local industry which has invested heavily besides hurting the commodity exports.

He asked the ministry to conduct a thorough investigation as to how expired Indian mango pulp found its way into Pakistan and res­ponsible must be taken to task.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2019