PFA seals 13 food points

LAHORE : The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) sealed 13 food points and penalised dozens of eateries during an ongoing crackdown on unhygienic and illegal food businesses in the province.

PFA Director General Irfan Memon conducted raids on two illegal slaughterhouses in Bakar Mandi in Lahore and caught butchers red-handed preparing meat of sick animals for its supply in the City. The PFA teams also caught people injecting water into meat for increasing its weight.

The authority sealed Malik Cheeno and another meat point on this charge.

The PFA DG said that the food authority registered a case against two people for making money through illegal methods. The confiscated material was set ablaze at Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company (PAMCO) furnace.

The PFA teams are checking poultry and meat shops on a daily basis. The PFA Khanawal team raided Mughal Mirch Masala Factory and sealed it over contamination of non-food graded items in chilli, presence of unnecessary items in the processing area and for using rusty machinery. The PFA closed down Nasrullah Pepper Factory in Rahimyar Khan on account of adulteration. A team of PFA also sealed Master Chargha Broast for using rancid oil and non-compliance of instructions.

A PFA team raided Liaquat Salt Unit over failure of its samples, preserving food at foot level and poor cleanliness arrangements.

The authority also shut down two sweets shops for using untraceable chemicals and loose colours in preparation of confectioneries. Workers of the shop did not have medical certificates. The PFA teams sealed Murtaza Ijaz Store in Attock and Anees Akram Store in Jhelum for selling expired and loose spices.

The PFA stopped production of Mega Foods and Hafiz Revari by serving an emergency prohibition order on them. The PFA Sargodha team raided Al-Rehman Chicken Shop for failing to meet the food safety standards and unhygienic meat. The meat safety team sealed Milk Poultry Sale Centre in Sialkot for not adopting cone slaughtering system and not covering the meat. In Gujarat, Ishtiaq Karyana Store was sealed by the PFA after recovering gutka from there.