The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) carried out a province-wide grand operation against unhygienic food points and sealed 15 eateries besides discarding more than 20,000 kilo unhealthy food here on Tuesday.
The authority also imposed emergency prohibition order on four food outlets and stopped their production till further orders. Meanwhile, PFA Director General Irfan Memon has led the operation in Lahore and shut down two food points over non-compliance with authority instructions. He said that PFA shut down Sovran Distributors & Cold Store and Cottage Cold Store in Sundar Industrial Estate for preserving food without covering at foot level and failing to take measures to control pests.
Glacier Private Limited and Arshad Enterprises were served with EPOs. He said that food safety teams slapped fine on Shahi Enterprises and Remoxin Enterprises due to violation of rules. Punjab Food Authority will not compromise on the quality of food and will deal with iron hands to violators who will not meet the PFA food standards, he added.
On the other hand, PFA watchdog team raided Nawab Sweets & Bakers in Muzaffargarh and sealed it for using starch and chemicals in the preparation of sweets. PFA Rajanpur team closed down Fresh Well Sweets & Bakers for not taking measures to control pests and poor cleanliness arrangements.
In Raheem Yar Khan, Esa Beverages was shut down by PFA for selling expired drinks and doing business without getting a food licence. A team of PFA also sealed Aqsa Paan Shop after recovering a huge quantity of gutka and expired food items. Farooq Snacks was sealed due to using substandard ingredients and over wrong labelling. PFA Khanawal Team sealed Government Post Graduate College’s canteen for selling prohibited food items like carbonated drinks.
Further, PFA sealed Asif Traders and Rana Foods owing to sale expired food and poor storage system. The authority also closed down three food points due to using expired food items, an abundance of insects, stinky environment and non-compliance of instructions. A food safety team of PFA Faisalabad raided Ahsan Bag Traders and sealed it due to misbranding and worst condition of hygiene. In Jhang, PFA sealed Al-Malik Sweets on account of adulteration and unhygienic conditions.
Similarly, PFA officials have penalized 15 food points with Rs37,000 cumulative fine in Faisalabad division, 26 eateries with Rs62,000 fine in Gujranwala division, six shopkeepers with Rs25,000 fine in Sargodha division, nine FBOs with Rs36,000 fine in Rawalpindi division and imposed Rs189,000 fine in South Region. Fine was imposed owing to violate the rules and regulations of the PFA. Meanwhile, people can inform PFA concerning adulteration mafia on its Facebook Page and Toll-Free number 1223.