Peshawar     -   Two-day Food Safety and Nutrition Expo, as well as an international conference on emerging trends in food safety, came to an end here on Thursday. The conference was organised by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, in collaboration with the University of Agriculture Peshawar’s Food Science and Technology Department, the University of Haripur, ARID Agriculture University Rawalpindi, PCSIR Laboratories Complex Peshawar, and Nutrition International. Academics from across the country, as well as researchers from international universities, spoke at the event, which covered topics such as food safety teams, food security, Shariah law, and Halal food. Commissioner Peshawar Division and founding DG of KP Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, Riaz Khan Mehsud, praised the authority and academia for organising and participating in the grand expo. He said the KP Food Safety Authority would make sure that the conference’s recommendations were followed. He said that the authority’s technical officers should be given an opportunity to learn from international practices through international training. He said the KP Food Safety Authority should now be expanded to include the rest of the province. He said the authority’s technical capacity has grown over time, and seven mobile food testing laboratories are now operational in the province, with five more set to open this year. He said the expo would be more magnificently organised in the future. The commissioner Peshawar also lauded the efforts of DG Food Safety Authority, director technical and other officers. Shah Rukh Ali Khan, director general of the Food Safety Authority, thanked academia, researchers and industry for their participation in the event. He said that all stakeholders participated actively in the expo and international conference. Prof Dr Asif Ali said the technical sessions highlighted a good understanding of national and international food practices, as well as food standards. Qasim Ahmad, an industry representative, congratulated the KP Food Safety Authority and all other stakeholders over of the expo, which he said was the first of its kind in the province. PCSIR Director General Jehangir Shah said there was a need for collaboration among key pillars such as the Food Safety Authority, academia, research institutions and industries, and that they should work together to help in industrial growth and provide better food to the people. He said that it was now time to establish the Pakistan Food Safety and Nutrition Council, and that food waste should be reduced through skill-based trainings and public awareness.