Province-wide operation: PFA seals nine food points over adulteration, unhygienic conditions.
Food safety teams confiscate 3,300kg substandard pickle, 1,250kg adulterated spices and 100kg salt in a daylong operation.
PFA destroys vegetables grown with sewage in Sargodha.
On the directions of Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Director General Irfan Memon, food safety teams have carried out a grand operation against adulteration mafia and toxic vegetables that cultivated with industrial waste and sewerage water across the province on Monday.
During the operation, PFA has sealed nine food points and penalized numerous food business operators with hefty fines besides serving warning notices for improvement to 11 eateries.
PFA Director General Irfan Memon said that a godown of pickle was sealed in Sargodha after confiscating 3,300kg substandard pickle. He said that team sealed Yousaf Food Storage in Sikka Colony for doing business without a food license, storing poor quality pickle and unhygienic conditions.
PFA Gujranwala team also raided Umair Smart Shop and sealed it for selling expired food items and loose spices, the presence of cobwebs, an abundance of insects and poor cleanliness arrangements. A team of PFA sealed Ramzan Salt unit due to selling salt without a label, preserving store at food level and unhygienic conditions. The raiding team has confiscated 1,250kg adulterated spices, 100kg salt, 10kg loose turmeric powder and red chilli powder. In Sialkot, PFA has closed down Sardar Begum Hospital’s canteen for selling expired food items, failing to produce medicals and worst condition of hygiene.
In another raid, PFA watchdog team sealed Shabbir Awan Khoya unit in Mandi Bhauddin over proved contamination of Banaspati ghee, not covered khoya and for failing to meet hygienic working environment. Apart from that, workers of the unit did not have medical certificates.
In the South Region, the food safety teams have sealed three food factories and imposed Rs50,000 cumulative fine owing to violate the provincial food law. Irfan Memon said that PFA shut down Rehan Food Products for preserving oil in non-food graded drums, using untraceable colours and poor cleanliness arrangements. Ghosia Foods has sealed due to using substandard ingredients, presence of rats and not taking measures to control pests. An enforcement team of PFA also closed down Madina Crispo Kacha Pappar factory over the presence of cats in the production area, proved contamination of hazardous chemicals in snacks, failure to produce medical certificates and non-compliance of authority instructions.