Punjab Food Authority Grand Operation: Discards Over 11000 Unwholesome Food

LAHORE, (Muzaffargarh.City – 28th Feb, 2020 ) :The Punjab Food Authority under the supervision of Director General Irfan Memon, raided and sealed a juice factory over the usage of expired food on Friday. According to the details, Warda Foods factory which was producing juice, ketchup and mayonnaise with expired ingredients. During the raid the authority has confiscated huge amount of expired food items- 2700kg expired carrot pulp, 2760 Apple pulp, 1800kg sauce and 1750kg mayonnaise. PFA DG Irfan Memon said that hazardous juices, ketchup and mayonnaise were being produced with adding chemical and fungus infested raw material. Action was taken due to finding excess of insects, rusted and dirty pots and poor storage in production area. Lose colours were being used in the preparation of food as well as the violation of previous warning notice was found. He said that dairy safety team set pickets at Ganga stop Pattoki and checked 4600 liters milk which was being carried on vehicles. Every food business whether it is small or big was checked regularly across the province, he said and added that food business in Punjab can only be run with complying PFA laws and regulations. During the raids in other districts of Punjab, PFA has once again shut down the Khaleel Mirch Chakki (grinding) over interference in the functioning of the authority and unsealed the premises without completing the legal procedure in Faisalabad. An unit ‘Ali Fat Rendering’ was sealed due to not having a record and agreement with Biodiesel Company. Two chicken shops were sealed over stinky environment and worst condition of hygiene. Apart from that, workers of the shops did not have medical certificates. In Rawalpindi division, PFA closed down Qasim Traders and Adeel Traders and two other food points for storing expired cold drinks, selling tainted chillies and unhygienic conditions.

The PFA Attock team sealed Sher Ahmed General Store and Shoaib Ali Best Store on the basis of poor arrangements of cleanliness in production area and non-compliance of warning notices. The PFA food safety teams of Chakwal closed down Ghamkol Sharif Pakwan Center, Punjab Poultry Service and Hafiz Pakwan Center using chemical drums, an abundance of insects in productions area, dirty environment and for ignoring the previous warnings notices of the authority. Meat safety team raided Adnan Meat Shop in Sialkot and sealed it for not having an integrated system to control pests, failing to produce medical certificates and poor personnel hygiene. In Gujarat, the authority closed down Butt Bakers and Rohania Sweets owing to use adulterated ‘khoya’ in sweets and for failing to meet food standards. An enforcement team sealed Chaudhary Milk Shop in Sargodha on account of adulteration and failing to produce medical certificates. Meanwhile, Khan Muhammad Milk, Al-Faisal Dairy Shop and Shakeel Meat Shop had been sealed for selling tainted milk and unhygienic meat in Khushab. The PFA south teams sealed Ali Mohsin & Company in Raheem Yar Khan and two food points in Rajanpur for selling expired beverages, doing business without food license and violation of the law. PFA Multan team sealed two other food points in Multan and Muzaffargarh owing to use rusty machinery and proved contamination in red chilli. In Bahawalpur, PFA sealed ‘Poultry Protein’ over incomplete labelling, usage of the rusty freezer and for selling unhygienic meat. Similarly, PFA sealed a food point for selling gutka.The authority had penalized dozens of eateries with fines besides discarded 920kg substandard turmeric powder, 200kg whole red chilli, 120kg red chilli powder and 700kg chilli