Crackdown continues: Two restaurants, beverage and food products units sealed

Chinese eatery on Kashmir Road among two restaurants sealed

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority teams sealed a food manufacturing unit, a carbonated beverages unit and two restaurants for failure to meet food quality standards in raids across the city on Friday.

In Ravi Town, a PFA team sealed Mumtaz Baoo Amin Food Manufacturing Unit in Akbari Market for poor hygiene conditions. A PFA official said the team spotted several insects and rodents at the premises. He said there was no precautionary arrangement to keep food items safe from them. He said the food colours the business was using in preparation of various food products was substandard. He said the raiding team confiscated large quantities of sub-standard food products from the premises.

Altaf Soda Water Factory was sealed for filling carbonated beverages manufactured at the unit in used bottles of various renowned soft drink brands. Besides, the official said the beverage quality was sub-standard and hygiene at the premises poor.

Sain Shami Kabab Shop was fined for keeping meat in an unkempt deep freezer, not making its cooking and serving staff cover their heads and selling food without proper packing.

A PFA Data Ganj Baksh team sealed Lung Fung Chinese restaurant on Kashmir Road on poor hygiene conditions. A PFA official said the team recovered expired bread from the restaurant’s kitchen. He said the dish washing area of the restaurant was unclean. A heavy fine was imposed on New Kashmir Restaurant, Durand Road, for poor hygiene.

PFA Allama Iqbal Town team sealed Tandoori Nights restaurant near Shadiwal Chowk on poor hygiene at the premises. A PFA official said instead of wasting the leftover food the restaurant had kept it in the deep freezer with other usable food products. He said there was no precautionary arrangement in the kitchen to keep flying insects away from the cooking area.

In Nishtar Town, a PFA team imposed fines on Ghosia Restaurant and Milk Shop (near Gajumatta Bus Station) and Ajwa Foods (on Kahna Road), for poor hygiene conditions. In Gulberg Town, a PFA team fined a cafeteria at the Children’s Hospital and Ghosia Samosa Corner, Model Town, for poor hygiene conditions.

In its crackdown on adulterated milk, the PFA on Saturday seized and wasted 230 litres of milk diluted with water from milk vehicles stopped at 43 pickets set up at all major roads coming to the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2015.