PFA turns deaf ear to CCI decisions on Banaspati

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has turned a deaf ear to the decisions of the Council of Common interests (CCI) on the manufacturing and sale of Banaspati (partially hydrogenated fats) in the province by imposing a ban on it with effect from July 2020.

The CCI consisting of representation from all the four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) in its consecutive meetings held on 23 and 29 January, 2020 chaired by the federal minister for Science and Technology unanimously resolved to adopt Federal Standards developed by the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) namely Pakistan Standards (PS), by repealing all Provincial Standards.

However, the PFA did not implement the decision in letter and spirit and issued a letter no DG(PFA) DD(S&E)/2020/155 dated 27th April, 2020 to the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturing Association titling imposition of ban on the manufacturing and sale of Banaspati in Punjab. The letter stated that a meeting of the Scientific Panel of the PFA was convened on 18th March 2020 in which the agenda pertinent to the prohibition of manufacturing and sale of Banaspati w.e.f July 2020 within the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab was re-examined and deliberated.

In the light of the recommendation put forth by the Scientific Panel based on the international best practices and health hazards (i.e. saturated fats and trans fatty acids) associated with the consumption of Banaspati, it was unanimously reaffirmed by all the Scientific Panel that the manufacturing and sale of Banaspati should be banned by the Punjab Food Authority as per deadline mentioned in the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Science and Technology repealed all Provincial Standards with National Standards formulated by the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority vide a notification no F.NO. 12(14)/2018ATA-II dated 6th March, 2020. The ministry notified that “single harmonized standards shall prevail across the country as National Standard/Pakistan Standard. All Provincial Standards shall be repealed with National standards formulated by PSQCA.

A spokesperson of the PFA said that the CCI did not repeal the rules and regulations of the PFA. The deadline of the end of Banaspati manufacturing and sales was decided in 2018 and part of the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018. The CCI decided to develop the standards for the country and a committee was constituted which would develop Pakistan Standards. “Previous standards of the province were not repealed by the CCI,” the spokesperson said.

He said the PFA issued the letter to the PVMA in its legal capacity and honours the CCI, the largest platform of the country to resolve confronting issues. He insisted that the CCI did not void the PFA decisions on Banaspati as the PFA decided it in 2018 with a deadline of implementation from July 2020.

Meanwhile, Secretary General PVMA Umer Islam Khan in a letter to DG PFA Irfan Memon stated that Pakistan Standard namely PS-221 was developed for Banaspati (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil). In its specifications/characteristics portion, the limit for trans-fats is set at 5 per cent. Therefore, it is easy to interpret that Pakistan Standards allow partial or full hydrogenation of vegetable fats if the end-product (Banaspati) remains within the limits of 5 per cent. The industry is entirely compliant by following the PS in letter and spirit while manufacturing Banaspati for domestic consumption and even exports. The PS 221 standards have been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) bearing no G/TBT/N/PAK/16 dated 6th June, 2007, which has been accepted and hence imports/exports are being materialized without any impediments or technical barriers.

Umer Islam stated that unilateral imposition of ban on Banaspati by the PFA is not only illogical and without any legal or constitutional framework but also detrimental to smooth functioning of imports/exports, manufacturing and end-consumption by consumers, blatantly violating the decision taken by the government of Punjab and Pakistan, and termed it a technical barrier.

Further, the ban is also in violation of Preferential Trade Agreements namely MPCEPA and IPPTA signed by Pakistan with Malaysia and Indonesia respectively. Moreover, the PFA Scientific Panel devoid of any representation from industry, experts on WTO/World Health Organization (WHO) and federal representatives is indeed nonqualified, hence incompetent to make such recommendations. Moreover, neither the unknown members of the Scientific Panel hold experience or support or recognition from the leading organizations such as the WTO and the WHO nor have any experience of how to adopt, develop or revise the standards as per internationally-recognized good business practices.

The PVMA secretary general claimed that the PFA itself has no agreement or arrangement. Hence it is not recognized by these international organizations as far as standards are concerned to ease out international trading.

Furthermore, the unilateral and illegal announcement of ban on Banaspati by the Punjab Food Authority shall have devastating and far-reaching effects on the import pattern of Palm oil, since commercial and industrial undertakings may restrict or retard their imports under threat/intimidation resulting in shortage and price hike of Banaspati.

The PVMA official asked the PFA to incorporate necessary amendments to the Punjab Food Authority Regulations in line with the CCI decision.

The PVMA will further deliberate on the issues related to standards and conformity assessment procedures in the light of PVMA Scientific Panel recommendations and in line with National Standards and WTO/WHO guidelines with the PFA after the Covid-19 pandemic is over.