20 food points sealed: 28,500 litre spurious milk discarded

LAHORE:Punjab Food Authority (PFA) disposed of 28,500 litres of chemically contaminated milk at screening pickets set up at entry and exit points of the provincial metropolis here on Tuesday.

PFA Director General Irfan Memon visited different sites of Lahore to inspect performance of dairy safety teams. He said the teams examined 40,000 litres of milk being carried on 11 milk vehicles from different areas of Punjab. He said adulterated milk was preserved in stinky and rusty tankers. “Adulterated milk was disposed of after contamination of water, urea and formalin was found in the milk,” he said, adding hazardous powder and other chemicals were used to enhance the thickness and quantity of milk.

He said dairy safety teams inspect milk vehicles daily. PFA has sealed 20 food points including general stores, production units, warehouses and sweets shops. Besides, the authority penalised dozens of food business operators with hefty fines in a daylong operation.

PFA sealed two Karyana stores in Bahawalpur for selling adulterated spices and expired items, as well as poor storage system. The authority also shut down Umer Rafiq Store in Bahawalnagar, Shalimar Store in Muzaffargarh and Waqas Store in DG Khan. A meat safety team of PFA sealed Arshad Chicken Shop for not adopting cone slaughtering system and not having medical certificates.

In Rawalpindi, PFA has sealed Yaqoob and Hafeez Stores in different raids over violation of the rules of Act. The team closed down Jhulay Laal Beef Shop and Shehroz Enterprise’s godown over presence of rats, insects and stinky environment. PFA Attock dairy safety team shut down Naveed Milk Shop for failing to meet food safety standards. The authority also imposed emergency prohibition orders on two FBOs.

An enforcement team raided Safeer Karyana Store in Gujranwala and sealed it over the presence of washroom in the production area, non-compliance of instructions and selling adulterated spices. In Narowal, PFA stopped production of Mian Traders by serving emergency prohibition order.

The authority sealed production unit of Asad Food in Faisalabad over failure to produce an agreement with biodiesel company, unavailability of record and poor cleanliness arrangements. PFA Jhang team shut down Al-Hafiz Mirch Store for selling tainted red chilli and loose powder. In Toba Tek Singh, Madina Atta Chaki (grinding unit) was sealed by PFA over adulteration. The authority also registered an FIR against the owner of the unit.

PFA Sargodha team sealed Saqlain Khoya unit for using skimmed milk in the preparation of Khoya. The provincial food regulatory body also closed down two food points over the production of adulterated gram flour and unhygienic conditions. A meat safety team also sealed a beef shop for selling unhygienic meat. In Bhakkar, Haneef Karyana Store was sealed owing to multiple violations.

Meanwhile, PFA watchdog teams have discarded 2,640-kilo adulterated gram flour, 280-kg corn and 450-kg each matri daal and flour. Further, the authority served notices for improvement to more than 350 food joints.