The Punjab Food Authority’s Medical Screening Lab has declared as many as 471 food handlers/ workers sick after the results of their medical report were positive. It was disclosed in a monthly report Jan 2019 of PFA Medical Screening Lab here on Monday.
PFA Director General Captain (R) Muhammad Usman said that PFA took the blood samples of 5,882 people among 5,411 workers were found healthy and remaining failed in the medical screening test. In the report revealed that 154 people were suffering from Typhoid, 26 people from Tuberculosis (TB), 130 people from Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 161 people suffering from Hepatitis C virus (HBV). The authority conducted 2,829 medical tests of food workers in Lahore Screening Lab, 1,250 tests in Multan, 705 tests in Gujranwala and 1,098 tests in Rawalpindi during January 2019.
DG said that it is compulsory for food business handlers/workers to be healthy. He said that no one can work in food industry without getting medical certificates from PFA. The purpose of medical screening was to ensure the provision of safe and healthy food at ground level from safe hands. He further said that food authority is ensuring the presence of healthy workers in food industry along with food is disease free. He informed that affected workers could not directly participate in the preparation of food. Muhammad Usman added that PFA is vigilantly monitoring every department at each level which associated with food business.