Quality o f food of animal origin has been a main concern and
on account of poor knowledge, lack of sophisticated
equipments and techniques, non-availability of suitable
labs, no efforts to improve
the quality of the food in
Pakistan had been made. It is a bare fact that animals and
plants are constantly exposed to a variety of potentially
harmful chemicals/bio-chemicals and pathogens in the
polluted environment.There
is indiscriminate spray of pesticides on cotton and rice
crops. Residues of these pesticides are transferred to
animal or poultry through consumption of feed containing
chemically contaminated cotton seed cake and the rice.
Similarly, there is contamination
of disinfectants, antibiotics, mycotoxins etc., in feed of
poultry and dairy animals that are excreted in milk, meat or
eggs and subsequently enters in our food chain.
These chemical or biological
toxins or pathogens are posing serious human health hazards. The
toxic effects in human may be manifested at population,
individual, tissue, cellular or molecular level. Some effects
such as death, acute respiratory illness, skin rashes, toxic
hepatitis are apparently visible while some time hidden serious
efforts such as immuno-suppression, reproductive/fetal
abnormalities, teratogenic, mutagenic/carcinogenic effects etc.
Reduce growth are not uncommon.
The nervous system is a prominent target when toxins can induce
acute psychosis, memory impairment, neuropathy and tremor.
Adverse consequences of such potential toxicities are illness
leading to disability, anxiety, stress, chronic frustration,
anger and emotional discomfort.
General public is not aware of
hidden and harmful effects of many compounds and foods of animal
origins on human health. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has
emphasized on standardized frame work of quality control of food
items of animal origin for export or import purpose and this has
been elaborated in the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS)
measures under trade in goods. Moreover, the laboratory shall
take care of Technical barriers on Trade (TBT)trade
Government of Punjab realized the
serious public problem of Food Security and Agriculture Support
Program Loan II (ASPL-II) through Government of Punjab decided
to spend Rs 99.998 millions for establishing a ?Quality
Control Laboratory for Testing Livestock and Food of Animal
Origin with reference to World Trade Organization (WTO-QCL)
in University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore.
This laboratory will test the quality of livestock and food of
animal origin not only to meet the requirement of international
trade but also to provide quality conscious food for our own
nationals. To achieve these targets, tremendous revolutionary
changes in the Extension Wing of Veterinary Services are
required to be made.
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