CONSIDERING the careless authorisation of Food Safety Laws in Pakistan, and the general absence of concern towards cleanliness and hygiene, maybe it is best not to contemplate over the origin of the food on our plates. We do not have the foggiest idea of what we are eating in Pakistan.

Whether it is street food or suppers served in high-end restaurants, streams of sewage and heaps of foulness are usually found near where the food is being served. Even the quality of the food we purchase for utilization at home is doubtful, for example, meat and milk are usually put in a way that exposes them to rotten residues and creepy crawlies. Moreover, it is no secret that all monetarily marketed food today incorporates some type of added substance or another.

Compulsory medical screening of butchers at all selling points, throughout the city, has already been officially enforced. This has been done to ensure that meat being sold is free from infection and disease. One look inside most abattoirs and meat markets in Pakistan, will cause one to understand the reason behind this move. Undeniably, an eye must be kept on the butchers to ensure they are healthy and contamination through their contact with meat is not being passed. These checks, alongside closer examination of the nature and quality of meat being sold, must be repeated in regions countrywide.

To ameliorate food safety over the long haul, as opposed to individual endeavors, the provincial and metropolitan bodies managing public health must lead the campaign to convince food venders about the advantages of taking care of eatables in a hygienic manner. They are required to guarantee, from time to time, that all the measures are being followed and take strict action against those disregarding these regulations, to protect public’s health. We demand exemplary food safety protectors, particularly in Lahore, to seal offending eateries, without taking in account any type of political pressure.

S. Ahsan Raza Sherazi
Lahore

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2019