Lahore: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) declared 484 Food Handlers (FHs) ‘ill’ after the results of their medical report were positive. This was revealed by PFA Director General retired Captain Muhammad Usman, on Tuesday.
According to the statistics of Medical Screening Facility report for the month of November 2018, PFA took the blood samples of 3,846 food handlers/ workers among 3,362 workers passed and remaining failed in the medical screening test. As many as 1,786 people screened in Lahore, 662 workers in Multan and 744 people each in Rawalpindi and Gujranwala.
DG Food Authority Muhammad Usman said that out of 484 ill people, 74 food handlers were found suffering from the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), 58 suffering from Hepatitis B virus (HBV), 36 suffering from Tuberculosis (TB) epidemic and 316 workers suffering from typhoid illness. He said that there is no place for sick workers in food industry because they cause of viral diseases. He further said that PFA is providing a facility of six different tests including HCV, HBV, HIV, TB, Complete Blood Count (CBC) and Typhoid in their laboratories that established in Multan, Lahore, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi. He added that PFA is requesting health department for medical treatment of affected people. PFA cannot be permitted to any food handler/ worker to work without getting a medical certificate from the provincial food regulatory body, he mentioned.