LAHORE: Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has rejected the plea to extend the deadline of Red Bull and Monster Energy drink companies while meeting held with the representatives at PFA office here on Friday.
PFA will not give more adjustment time to them and strict action would be taken against violators after December 31, 2018, officials said adding PFA DG informed that nobody, including manufacturers and food business operators, would sell any energy drink in the market after December 31.
PFA had banned the sale of energy drinks in April 2018 and directed them to remove stock and ensure the compliance of instruction before ending the deadline. In April, provincial food regulatory body has directed companies for not using “energy drink” word for caffeinated drinks, DG added.
Meanwhile, PFA Director General Captain (R) Muhammad Usman on Friday presided over a meeting with the spice industry’s traders and the officials of authority in order to run new regulations, especially concerning loose spices in a better style during 2019.
He said that PFA would launch operation on a massive scale so as to stop the sale of loose spices throughout Punjab from 1st January. In this connection, PFA is doing work day and night on the action plan which is near to completion. He said that PFA is also giving awareness to traders and industry associated with the spice industry.
He disclosed that around 1,000 food business operators, including wholesalers and manufacturers, have been trained so far across Punjab. The DG said that it is compulsory for manufacturers to mention company and supplier names, details of ingredients, manufacturing and expiry dates, weight and address on the packing.
PFA is taking all necessary measures to curb the adulteration in Punjab, he said and added that PFA will deal with iron hands to violators of the PFA food standards. Muhammad Usman said that the top priority of PFA is to ensure the provision of healthy food from ‘Farm to Fork’, he mentioned.
quack centres: Punjab Healthcare Commission has sealed 52 centres of quacks.
The PHC teams have raided 253 treatment centres, sealed 52 quackery outlets, which included; nine each in Sargodha and Taunsa, eight in Sialkot, seven each in Chakwal, Gujrat and Samundari whereas four centres were sealed in Lahore. Out of visited centres to check quackery, at 64, quacks had quit illegal businesses already.
It is pertinent to mention here that 99 quackery outlets were sealed during the last week, while the PHC teams had visited 495 treatment centres. From among these, 133 quackery centres were found to have been replaced with other businesses.