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German envoy offers help to PFA for food grade packaging

By Our Correspondent
April 21, 2018

LAHORE: German Ambassador to Pakistan Martin Kobler has proposed to work together with Punjab Food Authority to promote food grade packaging. He said this during a meeting with PFA Director General Noorul Amin Mengal at PFA Headquarters on Friday.

A detailed discussion was held to take food safety laws, administrative and operational procedure of PFA. Noorul Amin Mengal briefed about the PFA mission, activities of field teams and future programme. On the occasion, Additional Director General Operations and Technical were also present.

Martin Kobler appreciated the PFA efforts for bringing packaging regulation, to control the food safety issues and to ensure provision of safe and healthy food in Punjab. He said that elimination of plastic use in packaging materials is a revolutionary step towards environmental protection. He said that burden of food-related diseases can be controlled through the use of food grade material in packaging. The PFA DG said Germany’s food packaging model is tremendous in order to control the use of plastic and its effect on environment.

He said the purpose of bringing packaging regulation was to promote safe packaging free of plastic. A large capacity for investment in the packaging industry is present in Punjab, he added.

Earlier, German Ambassador to Pakistan Martin Kobler and PFA DG Noorul Amin Mengal inaugurated the cafeteria named “Café Safe & Tasty” at PFA Headquarters. Martin tasted food and admired its quality which was put on sale for customers at the cafeteria.

The PFA DG told that café is a role model for other food business operators. The café will also be used for trainers exercise who will be enrolled in Punjab Food Authority Training School. At the end, Noorul Amin Mengal presented a souvenir to German ambassador.

Meanwhile, Punjab Food Authority (PFA) conducted raids and sealed 26 food points across the Punjab Friday. The PFA teams imposed Rs651,500 fine on 63 food businesses and served notices on more than 500 outlets for improvement during a daylong activity.

Following the PFA Director General Noorul Amin direction, food safety teams raided hundreds of food points for ensuring the implementation of food safety laws, examining the quality of food and its ingredients which were being used in the preparation of food in Punjab. The teams discarded a huge quantity of unhygienic and poor quality food.

PFA Lahore caught red-handed a fake production unit of nimko and sealed it for producing adulterated appetiser. The team confiscated a huge quantity of nimko, substandard ingredients and harmful colours during raid, later discarded.

In other activities, the teams sealed nine food points in Gujranwala, five in Multan, two confectionery units in Sargodha, four food businesses in Rawalpindi, two in DG Khan and three outlets in Faisalabad divisions.

Moreover, PFA’s watchdogs penalised more than five dozen food outlets by imposing Rs86,000 fine on six points in Lahore, Rs46,000 fine on eight in Rawalpindi, Rs18,500 fine on three in Sahiwal, Rs130,000 on 13 eateries in Sargodha, Rs184,500 fine on 11 outlets in Gujranwala, Rs92,000 fine on eight in DG Khan, Rs34,500 fine on seven in Faisalabad and Rs40,000 fine in Multan for not complying with the instructions of the authority.

PFA penalised outlets and sealed shops for not following previous instructions. Number of substandard products were discarded, including 2,300kg adulterated red chili, 240kg Chaat Masala, 55kg turmeric, 45kg spices, 5,500 packs of different betel nuts, 5,000 litre fake carbonated drinks of different brands, 4,000 empty bottles, 20kg Chinese salt, 20kg sweets, 3,000 rotten eggs, 40 litre sugar syrup, several maunds sweets and other poor quality foodstuff.

Honoured: Punjab University (PU) Department of Political Science faculty member Prof Dr Iram Khalid participated in the 76th Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, USA and presented research paper on “Food Security: Understanding Pakistan’s National Security Concerns”.