Laws and rules: Food authorities divided on anti-adulteration drive

Food District Office cannot collect food samples in Lahore: Punjab Food Authority.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Food District Office is set to lock horns with the Punjab Food Authority in a campaign against food adulteration in a coming few days, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The Health Department issued a notification on April 9 placing 12 officers from the Animal Health Wing and the Dairy Development Department in Lahore and hundreds others across the Punjab at the disposal of Health Executive District Offices to work as ex-officio food inspectors.

The Food District Office says that the officers would exercise powers under Section 32 of the Punjab Pure Food Ordinance 1960 which has been repealed under Section 58(1) of the Punjab Food Authority Act 2011.

The Lahore district administration has been training the 12 officers to collect food samples. These officers, along with seven food inspectors and a chief food inspector, will start collecting samples of milk, oil and ghee from restaurants and distribution shops in a few days.

The Punjab Food Authority was made operational in Lahore in July 2012 under the Punjab Food Authority Act, 2011. It was authorised to keep a check on food items being sold in the city.



Section 58, subsection 1, of the Act reads, “The Punjab Pure Food Ordinance 1960 (VII of 1960) is hereby repealed.”

Since the authority has been operational in Lahore only, the ordinance can still be exercised in 35 districts in the province.

Section 1(3) of the Act reads, “It shall come into force on such date as the government may, by notification, specify and different dates may be so specified for different areas.”

Food Deputy Director Ayub Chaudhry said the department would collect food samples, exercising the powers conferred on it by the ordinance.

Prior to the Punjab Food Authority, he said, his office had been working as per the powers conferred by the ordinance. He said they would bring all inspectors to the field as soon as they completed their training.

Punjab Food Authority Director Asad Islam Mahani said the district office worked under the Punjab Pure Food Ordinance 1960 that had been repealed in Lahore.

He said the authority would take up the matter with the provincial government if the district office started collecting food samples.

“They will be violating the law if they collect food samples. Their inspectors can work in the rest of the districts in Punjab...just not in Lahore.”

Food Secretary Muhammad Aslam said officers from the Animal Health Wing and Dairy Development Department could check the quality of meat. However, he said, they could not inspect food items.

He said he was unaware the Health Department’s notification in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2014.