Keeping it clean: Crackdown against low quality food picks momentum

Inspection teams have been constituted at district and tehsil levels

BAHAWALPUR:

Strict action would be taken against those endangering the lives of people, Punjab Food Authority Bahawalpur Division Task Force Chairman Mian Alamdad Laleka said during a media briefing at the Bahawalpur Commissioner’s office on Wednesday.

He said, initially, they would not inspect small scale vendors and focus on large restaurants, bakeries and marriage halls. He also stressed the need for raising awareness among the general public regarding dangers of consuming substandard food. He said the inspection teams would focus on sale of milk, water, ghee and flour. Vendors found selling adulterated items would be dealt with strictly,

He said the inspection teams would focus on sale of milk, water, ghee and flour. Vendors found selling adulterated items would be dealt with strictly, Laleka said.

An inspection team, led by Assistant Commissioner Rao Tasleem Akhtar and Bahawalpur District Deputy Health Officer Zeeshan Rauf, inspected City Hotel on DCO Office Chowk. They found piles of trash in the kitchen and sealed the eatery. They also sealed Khawaja Ghareeb Nawaz Hotel and Gujranwala Restaurant in Satellite Town after they found that food was being prepared in violation of health rules. The owners of both restaurants have been arrested.

The team inspected Chicken Cottage Fast Food Restaurant on Railway Road and fined it Rs25,000 for preparing food in an unsanitary kitchen. Two warehouses of Asif Beverages, one on Jail Road and the other on Baghdad Road, were sealed and fined Rs75,000 after the inspection team found expired beverages there. Some of the workers at the warehouses were taken into custody.

The team sent its report to the Bahawalpur commissioner for further action against the outlets.

In Ahmadpur East, an inspection team led Assistant Commissioner Rana Amjad Ali sealed the Fast Food Club and Dua Restaurant for serving substandard food and keeping unsanitary kitchens. They fined Hafiz Hotel Rs5,000 and Rizwan Charga Rs10,000 for violating health rules and regulations.

In Rahim Yar Khan, City Spice and Dogar Snacks on City Bridge were sealed for unsanitary conditions and using substandard meat and spices. The team raided Noorani Barbeque and Juice Corner and found rotten fruit that was being used to extract juice. A Division police later arrested the owner.

In Khanpur, Metro Restaurant, Al Baek Restaurant, Allah Hu Akbar Restaurant, Chughtai Restaurant, Paradise Restaurant and Samosa Centre Model Town, Shama Biryani Restaurant, and New Shama Biryani Aziz Hotel at Nawa Kot Chowk were sealed for having unsanitary kitchens and using low quality spices among other violations of health rules.

Bahawalpur Commissioner Saqib Zafar said committees have been established at the district and tehsil levels to check adulteration of food. He said inspection teams in Bahawalpur division had conducted 1,340 raids and collected 1,300 samples of food for testing in the last two months. He said action had been taken against 168 outlets and 38 popular restaurants selling substandard food items in Bahawalpur.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2015.