MUHAMMAD SHAFA

KARACHI: Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has taken notice of raids by Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on the factories on edible oil and ghee which the PSQCA deemed a challenge to its authority as the sole National Standards Body (NSB) of Pakistan.

On the other hand, dual systems of PSQCA and PFA for quality checking of products have also left the consumers confused, let alone the producers. The 'unmarked' jurisdiction has created more perplexities for the consumers alongside manufacturers, vis-à-vis standards of goods to use or produce.

However, PSQCA has begun asserting its position in the wake of the recent raids by PFA on edible oil and ghee factories. PSQCA says it is the sole National Standards Body (NSB) of Pakistan. It has been mandated under the PSQCA Act VI of 1996 to check the quality of products that was also declared mandatory to bring the products under compulsory certification through SROs. Presently, 108 products stand declared as 'mandatory,' including edible cooking oil and ghee.

Sources said that the PSQCA had lost its grounds on non-performance because uncountable items of low-quality were being manufactured and sold in the local markets across the country creating a vacuum being filled by the provincial food departments to act. "Without the Prime Minister's intervention, the jurisdiction issue between both the institutions may not end," a source said.

The jurisdiction issue surfaced when PFA declared scores of edible oil and ghee brands insalubrious for human consumption after having examined the samples collected through its market surveys. The move left the PSQCA agape as it felt its jurisdiction on the goods quality certification overlapped by the provincial authority.

"PFA has declared various cooking oil and ghee brands unfit for human consumption and pointed out rancidity, artificial flavor addition and other acid values and the absence of Vitamin A in these samples, in a public notice issued by the Authority, in different newspapers on November 27," says a PSQCA statement.

Later, PSQCA, in the light of its statutory mandate initiated a fresh drive for verification by re-inspection and retesting of sample cooking oil and ghee produced by the said manufacturing units, from 3rd party accredited labs (ISO/IEC 17025) which were declared unfit by the PFA.

All the brands/articles of edible oil and ghee (i.e., Shan, Momin, Kashmir, Ghani, Sufi, Olio Premium, Season, Sundrop, Smart, Shah Taj, Soya Supreme, Koko, Miyar, Salva Spanish, Tallu, Maan, Naaz, Kissan and Malta) were rechecked and re-tested for quality as per standards for critical test parameters (i.e., free of fatty acids, oil's peroxide value, Iodine value and Vitamin A). The samples were tested by Quality Control Center-PSQCA Laboratories and then got re-tested from PCSIR Laboratories which were previously declared unfit for human consumption by PFA on the same test parameters.

All the samples have been found to be in conformity with the Pakistan Standards, except for slight deviation of the percentage of Vitamin-A in some cases, the PSQCA statement added.

"We are in close coordination with all stakeholders on this issue," said a PSQCA official talking to the Business Recorder, adding that the Director General PSQCA Engr. Muhammad Khalid Siddiq had a meeting with Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturing Association (PVMA) representatives. They agreed on the need to have uniform standards and one conformity assessment procedures as per international practice, to harmonize interprovincial, international trade and WTO requirements.

The PVMA assured the PSQCA for its full cooperation to improve the implementation of the PSQCA's policy for establishing a quality-conscious culture throughout the country.

Presently, over 120 licensed manufacturers of vegetable ghee and cooking oil are engaged in their imports, manufacturing, keeping in stock and selling activities under the license from Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (under section 14 of PSQCA Act VI of 1996, he concluded.