PFA seals food unit on account of adulteration

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on Tuesday sealed a food unit in the provincial capital during a grand operation under the supervision of DG Food Authority Rafaqat Ali Niswana.

During a raid on Maraba (Marmalade) and Pickle Unit located at China Road Shalimar Town, the authority has discarded more than 1,600 substandard food items.

DG Food Authority Rafaqat Ali Niswana said that rotten fruits and vegetables were being used to make the Maraba and pickles by adding poor quality spices to them.

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According to the DG Food Authority, fungus-stained Maraba and pickles were being supplied in dirty cans and banned blue chemical drums.

The DG Food Authority said that action was taken over the use of artificial flavours, chemicals and substandard storage while medical and food licenses of the employees were missing.

Rafaqat Ali Niswana further said that there is no compromise on food quality and violation of laws will be dealt with strictly.

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Earlier, the PFA launched a major operation against substandard mayonnaise and ketchup production units in Lahore.

DG Food Authority carried out successful operations in factories located at Thokar Niaz Baig, Madina Colony, Samanabad and Raiwind Road areas and destroyed 3452 kg substandard food items, Bol News reported.

He said that factories were making ketchup and mayonnaise with non-food graded colours and chemicals which was hazardous for human consumption.

He stressed that ketchup was made from chemicals without using any vegetables or fruits and was packed in non-food grade plastic bottles while gross violations of cleanliness were also found during the raid.