700 litre tainted milk discarded; shop sealed

LAHORE: An enforcement team of the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) raided a milk shop on Chandrai Road and disposed of 700 litres of chemically contaminated milk. 

The raid was conducted on the special directions of PFA Director General Muhammad Asim Javaid. The Punjab police have registered an FIR against the dairy unit owner on the complaint filed by the competent authority.

The PFA DG said that the authority shut down the shop over violations and seized a motorbike, mixing machine and drums during the raid. He said that acting on the tip-off, the dairy safety team of PFA raided a unit and caught the adulteration mafia red-handed producing fabricated milk.

He said that 700 litre fabricated milk was produced with vegetable ghee, prohibited powder and other hazardous ingredients while it was to be supplied to local shops in different societies of Lahore in the name of milk. Apart from that, milk was preserved in the non-food-graded drums.

The director general further said that the raiding team also witnessed the abundance of insects, flies and mosquito along with the worst condition of hygiene. He said that PFA had filed a case against the accused on account of adulteration and for violating the laws in the nearest police station.

The use of contaminated and adulterated milk is harmful to human health, he said. Asim Javaid said that the Punjab government will take strict action against the adulteration mafia and violators. He said that PFA is working on international standards to improve the quality of milk. He requested the public to support the PFA in eliminating the adulteration mafia and report to the PFA on its 1223 helpline number in case of any complaints.