Haroon Siraj
SWAT :- Additional Deputy Commissioner Relief Malakand Muhammad Umar has directed the officials of district administration, Food Safety and Halal Food Authority to pay frequent visits to the salt factories and outlets and seal those units involved in manufacturing non-iodised salt.
He issued these directions while chairing a meeting of district iodine deficiency disorder Control Committee at his office here on Monday.
The meeting were by representative from Health Departmant, FS & HFA, Social Welfare, Population Welfare, Education Department, Civil Society and representative from salt sectors.
While on this occasion zonal Manager Nutrition International, Said Hamid briefed the participants about the importance of iodine, its natural sources, how its deficiency occure, its impacts on human health and how we can control it. Highlighting the importance of regular intake of the commodity, he said that there was the dire need to educate people especially women and children about the usefulness of iodized salt.
He further went on saying that the use of iodized salt in daily diet helps to over- come various diseases and disorders in human including goiter development, deaf and dumbness, stuting, miscarriages, mental retardation and hampering physical growth. Declaring iodine defi- ciency a major public health problem in the country, he urged the need for implementing relevant laws regarding production and sale of edible salt in its true spirits.
The deputy commissioner asked the price magistrates and FS&HFA officials to initi- ate stern legal action against shopkeepers if they were found involved in selling non-iodized salt at their outlets and keeping it outside their shops.
The district administra- tion will approach reli- gious scholars and clerics through the district kha- teeb to seek their help for mass awareness about the usefulness of iodised salt”, he maintained. He also directed the officials of the education department to conduct awareness activities about the usefulness of the commodity in schools.
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