LAHORE: Two Punjab regulators have cracked down on the food business. The Environment Protection Department sealed 27 of the 30 Lahore restaurants it inspected overnight over smoke from their kitchens. Separately, the Punjab Food Authority closed the production unit of a well-known food chain in Kahna after finding expired raw material and contaminated water.
The Environment Protection Department has intensified its night operations against air pollution in Punjab. Its night squads inspected more than 256 restaurants across the province in the past 24 hours and sealed more than 47 of them for breaking environmental laws.
In Lahore, 30 restaurants were checked. Of these, 27 were sealed and three were served notices.
Barbecue and grill restaurants must now have proper suction hoods and working exhaust systems. Restaurants that do smoky cooking without a suction hood will be sealed. The department said a suction hood is a mandatory environmental requirement, not an optional feature. Night squads will check whether every restaurant has a hood and exhaust system and whether they work. The department said it will monitor every polluting establishment, not only restaurants.
Department spokesperson Sajid Bashir said the night squads now operate across Punjab, and violations will be acted on day or night. He said those who pollute under cover of darkness will also be brought within the reach of the law.
Director General Environment Abdullah Nayyar Sheikh said a zero-tolerance policy against polluters is being enforced. No establishment is above environmental law, he said, and action will be taken against violators without exception.
The timing is significant. Lahore enters its smog season in October and November, and the government has begun enforcement early. The department has already banned dry road sweeping and open burning, and the city’s air quality is again among the worst in the world, as shown in our latest weather and air quality update.
Open-flame grilling gives off fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and smoke directly into crowded streets. In food streets where dozens of grills operate close together, the effect adds up. Suction hoods and exhaust filters capture a large part of these emissions before they reach the air outside.
The Punjab Food Authority’s action against what it calls the “food fraud mafia” continues on the Chief Minister’s orders. On the instructions of the Director General of the Punjab Food Authority, Additional DG Operations Farhan Ahmad raided a production unit of a well-known food chain in Kahna and sealed it.
According to the authority, 600 litres of substandard water and more than one maund of various expired items were recovered and destroyed. The unit was sealed because expired raw material was found there.
The DG said a sample of the water kept for supply from the unit failed testing, and harmful chemicals were found in it. Officials said expired bakery items, mango pulp, spices and other items were also recovered. The unit’s store had open baskets and open drains, and paint was peeling off the walls.
The authority has not named the food chain.
The DG said small and large food chains and well-known brands across the province are being inspected. In line with the Chief Minister’s orders, food businesses in Punjab may operate only under the prescribed laws, and there will be no compromise on food quality.
The action follows earlier authority campaigns, including a crackdown on hoarders and profiteers that led to 414 arrests.
The authority advised people to check food items before buying them and to report complaints immediately on its helpline, 1223.
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