1,100 food points fined over reuse of cooking oil

LAHORE : The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) issued warning notices for improvement to 4,000 food points and penalised 1,100 food outlets with hefty fines during a province-wide operation against cooking in used oil last month.

The purpose of the operation was to curb the reuse of rancid oil and ensure the food safety standards defined in the Punjab Pure Food Regulations. PFA Director General Muhammad Asim Javaid said that food teams inspected 5,679 food points and stopped the production of 47 eateries by imposing emergency prohibition orders (EPOs) until further order.

He said the authority took action against the food business operators for using rancid oil in the preparation of food. He said that the teams also recovered 6,300 litre substandard and expired edible oil during different raids, later discarded.

The authority also got FIRs lodged against two food points over violation of the PFA Act with the respective police stations. He said that the consumption of rancid oil in food is harmful to human health while there is also a complete ban on adding new cooking oil to used oil and using it in food.

Cleaning around mosques, graveyards

Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) conducted a special cleaning operation focused on mosques and graveyards across the City.

This initiative aimed to enhance the cleanliness of areas surrounding religious places on Friday. LWMC's community wing, through social mobilisers, disseminated cleanliness messages in mosques. According to LWMC spokesperson, Umar Chaudhry, the community interface department's social mobiliser teams delivered awareness messages in mosques across all nine towns of the City.