Super store staff ‘detain’ PFA team for six hours

LAHORE: Staff of a well-known brand of super store detained a team of Punjab Food Authority (PFA), which was later rescued after six hours by PFA and police.

The incident took place at the warehouse of the brand at Attari Stop on Ferozepur Road on Tuesday night. It is pertinent to mention here that the popular brand store was so powerful that PFA abstained from revealing its name in the news issued to the media here on Wednesday.

PFA’s news release said that a food safety team including an additional director and a deputy director was held hostage in a renowned super store warehouse. It said eight brands of expired imported honey were found from the warehouse.

DG Food Authority himself led the team and raided the warehouse soon after the result of samples of honey collected from the warehouse were declared expired by PFA laboratory. As soon as the DG Food Authority left, the warehouse employees stopped the Food Authority team from taking action and held them hostage in a room where power was cut off. During the operation, the staff and management of the shopping mall put up strong resistance and threatened the team, PFA further said.

PFA said that an application for registration of a case against the said shopping mall management was filed in the concerned police station. DG PFA said that PFA teams often faced issues like life threats and violent attacks that while performing their duties.

According to Punjab Food Authority rules, sale of counterfeit and adulterated food items will not be allowed under any circumstances; DG PFA said and concluded that the PFA will continue its operations against food adulteration as per the vision of Chief Minister Punjab.