PFA shuts four bakeries, imposes hefty fines on two FBOs

LAHORE, Feb 13: The Punjab Food Authority’s enforcement teams on Tuesday shut down four bakeries and levied fines of Rs200,000 on two food business operators (FBOs) during the inspection of bakeries and their production units in different areas of Lahore.
On the directions of PFA Director General Muhammad Asim Javaid, food safety teams thoroughly inspected several bakeries in Sundar Industrial Estate, Bhobatian, Jalo Park and on Defence Road. He said that the purpose of the inspection was to ensure the provision of food in the market as per the food safety standards and quality parameters defined in the Punjab Pure Food Regulations.
The PFA also served warning notices for improvement to four bakeries besides discarding inferior quality of khoya, poor quality of food flavours, 40kg of substandard flour and more than 20kg of prohibited food ingredients. Moreover, PFA had confiscated 5,000 gum base, 720kg of fruit pulp and 150 litres of essence (Arq), he said.
Muhammad Asim further said that the provincial food regulatory body stopped the production of four bakeries and cake shops by imposing emergency prohibition orders (EPOs). He said that EPOs were imposed due to using expired raw material, non-compliance with the authority’s previous instructions, preserved food in dirty freezers, an abundance of insects, the presence of rodents and the worst condition of hygiene.
Apart from that, he said that cakes were being prepared with germs-infested white flour, expired pulp and gum base. While fungus-infested so-called desi ghee and khoya were preserved in non-food grade drums without taking any preventative measures, PFA DG said.
The director general further said that the use of expired or prohibited raw materials in the preparation of food products is extremely harmful to human health. The provincial food regulatory body has been working against substandard food points and violators under the zero-tolerance policy, he said, adding that PFA is utilizing all available resources to eliminate the counterfeiters and adulteration mafia from Punjab.