Nine food sale points sealed

Lahore: Nine food sale points were shut down by Punjab Food Authority (PFA) for failing to meet hygiene standards and on account of adulteration here on Thursday.

PFA teams also imposed Rs211,200 fine on 22 food business operators and served warning notices for improvement on 250 eateries. The action was taken against them as part of operation against unhygienic food outlets and processing units throughout the South Region.

Food safety teams sealed two confectionaries in Layya and one each in Khanewal, Vehari, Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan. The sweet shops were sealed for using loose colours and chemicals in preparation of sweets, doing business without medical certificates, presence of pests on the business premises and poor hygiene. PFA Bahawalnagar team raided and sealed Danish Honey Collection Unit for using non-food grade drums for storage purpose.

Similarly, PFA sealed Yams Restaurant for using rancid oil, failure to produce record and not complying with the authority instructions. A team of PFA sealed a canteen in Raheem Yar Khan for selling expired food items and an abundance of insects there. Apart from that, workers of the canteen did not have medical certificates.

Moreover, food safety officers penalised nine shopkeepers with Rs69,000 fine in South-I and Rs142,200 in South-II for unhygienic conditions at the shops. Enforcement teams discarded stale fish, gutka, adulterated milk, oil, substandard sweets, non-food grade colour and a huge quantity of unwholesome food.

Training: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) held a one-day training workshop for the traders associated with spices business. The purpose of the workshop was aware to the aware the traders of the ban on sale of loose spices being implemented in Punjab by January 1, 2019.