Workshop discloses that over 582 million people in world suffer from food-borne diseases

Lahore, October 29, 2015 (PPI-OT): The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority’s (SMEDA) workshop on Food Safety has disclosed that over 582 million people in the world suffer from the food-borne diseases, out of which about 2.2 million patients die every year. The one day workshop was organized by SMEDA in collaboration with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), concluding session of which was attended by Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, President LCCI as Chief Guest along with Provincial Chief SMEDA-Punjab Mr. Hassanien Javed as guest of honor. Mr. Nasir Saeed, Vice President LCCI, the renowned food technologist Dr. Muhammad Jahangir, Mr. Saqib Muneer, Deputy Director Punjab Food Authority and Mr. Muhammad Ijlal Malik, Regional Business Coordinator SMEDA also addressed the workshop.

A total of 65 individuals from sectors such as Bakery, Fast Food Restaurants, Hotels, Juice companies and food processors from and around Lahore attended this Program.

Sheikh Muhhammad Arshad, President LCCI, while addressing as Chief Guest, urged the small and medium entrepreneurs of the food sector to ensure application of the food standards in all of their venues including permanent or temporary kitchens and smaller food preparation area, such as restaurants, cafes, clubs, hotels, attractions, fast-food restaurants, retail food outlets and event halls.

Provincial Chief SMEDA Punjab Mr. Hassanien Javed, in his closing remarks, assured the business community that SMEDA will keep on delivering demand based capacity building services to the business community, and programs of the similar nature will also be conducted in other cities of Punjab.

Dr. Muhammad Jahangir, speaking as a lead expert on the food safety, apprised participants about the world’s best food safety techniques to be applied in the food processing units as well as hospitality, commercial catering and retail venues meant for food storage, preparation, display and service. He gave a detailed presentation on types of food contaminants, mirco-organism, food borne Illnesses, sanitary facilities, pest management and Food Hygiene control during food service process.

Meanwhile CEO SMEDA Mr. Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry, commenting on the food security issue has stated that the need of holding this workshop was identified after enforcement of food security standards by the Punjab government, which had activated Punjab Food Authority to raid food outlets serving unsafe food. In this scenario, the business units in hospitality and food processing units increasingly felt a need to upgrade their skills and systems to meet the regulatory requirements, he said. Therefore, SMEDA has come forward to fill in this gap by holding training programs in collaboration with the premier trade bodies like LCCI on food security standards and techniques, he added.

For more information, contact:
Liaqat Ali Gohar
DGM (Admin. and PR)
Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA)
4th Floor, Building No. 3, Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex,
Egerton Road, Lahore
Tel: +92-42-111-111-456
Fax: +92-42-36304926-7
Email: aligohar@smeda.org.pk, helpdesk@smeda.org.pk
Website: www.smeda.org.pk