LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) carried out an inspection of food points along the Motorway from Lahore to Faisalabad to ensure the provision of healthy and quality food to commuters.

On the directions of Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Director General Muhammad Asim Javaid, food safety teams under the supervision of PFA Additional Director General (Operations) Sardar Asif Dogar inspected 81 food points including restaurants, tuck shops and cafes. The teams thoroughly examined the production area, kitchens and other areas of the food outlets.

The teams closed down 10 famous food points, punished 63 eateries with Rs1.8 million cumulative fines and issued warning notices for improvement to 25 others. Further, the PFA’s enforcement teams discarded 205kg of unhygienic meat and 49kg of expired food items.

The DG PFA said the authority had taken action and closed down food points for failing to meet a hygienic working environment, keeping expired products and storing dairy and meat products together in freezers. He said that the teams visited cafes, restaurants, tuck shops and other eateries at the motorway service areas to check the food quality and hygiene. He said that FBOs can sell imported and local products in service areas only after getting approval from the competent authority.

The DG further said the PFA was continuously checking eateries on motorway service areas, bus terminals and GT Road on the directives of the Punjab government. He warned that food points located on M1, M2 and M3 must ensure high quality of food otherwise strict action will be taken over violations. He said commuters should check the food quality before buying food items from service areas. In case of any issues, register your complaint on the PFA 1223 helpline, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024