In a bid to ensure the provision of fresh and hygienic meat, the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has carried out a province-wide inspection drive of slaughterhouses and issued warning notices for improvement to 55.
Meanwhile, the meat safety teams have stopped the production of one slaughterhouse and penalized two out of 69 in a daylong operation. As many as 31 slaughterhouses were inspected in Lahore Zone, 21 in Rawalpindi, nine in Multan and eight in Muzaffargarh zone. This was informed by PFA Director General Captain (R) Muhammad Usman here on Thursday.
He said that the authority has stopped the production of slaughterhouse over the presence of stale meat, stagnant water in the production area, usage of rusty freezers and worst condition of hygiene. Apart from that, workers of the slaughterhouse did not have medical certificates. DG said that the production of the slaughterhouse will remain suspend until to meet the rules of the PFA Act. He further said that most of the slaughterhouses were founded following the food safety standards that defined in the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018. Furthermore, he has welcomed for bringing improvements in the management of the slaughterhouses in the province. Muhammad Usman said that only approved slaughterhouses in Punjab are allowed to prepare meat according to hygiene principles, otherwise, strict action would be taken against the violator. The strict action is being taken against illegal slaughterhouse as per the law, he added.