In bad taste: Factory making fake Lays chips sealed

Several restaurants in and around Khanewal district were fined

BAHAWALPUR: Three factories, including one that was manufacturing fake Lays chips, were sealed in Bahawalpur on Wednesday. The district administration also collected samples of cooking oil from various factories in the area.

Assistant Commissioner Rao Tasleem and Deputy District Officer Zeeshan led a raid at a factory in Allahabad Colony, Bahawalpur, which was illegally producing potato chips under the brand name Lays.

They sealed two other factories in Waseelan Basti and in Bohar Gate. Both factories were manufacturing substandard nimko. The team also collected samples of cooking oil from several suppliers in the city and sent them to a laboratory for tests.

“We have informed owners of food outlets in the city that they must obtain a licence to sell food. They have also been told to get health certificates of their employees,” Zeeshan said. “Everyone who comes in contact with the food – from food vendors to those running high-end restaurants – must obtain health certificates.” He said the certificate could be obtained by sending the Health Department an application.

In Khanewal, DCO Khalid Mahmood Sheikh constituted a team to inspect food sold at bakeries, restaurants, hotels and shops.

A team of district administration officials raided Al-Ammar Hotel and Restaurant, Ismail Sweets Shop, and Bismillah Hotel on Wednesday in Kabirwala. Their owners were fined for maintaining poor hygiene standards and cleanliness arrangements. The owner of Bismillah Highway Restaurant, near Pirowal, was fined for having an unsanitary kitchen.

The team also visited Kacha Khu, Mianwali and Musa Khel. They inspected Qalander-i-Kibria Restaurant in Musa Khel and discovered that substandard food was being served to clients, and the kitchens were dirty. The team imposed a heavy fine on the restaurant.

The team also checked Baba Nazir Hotel and New Mianwali Hotel on Jahanian Road and found poor cleanliness there. The team fined the owners and gave them a warning. Arshad Qulfa Point, Bismillah Family Mart, Student Biryani point, Shangrila Bakers, Punjab Food Street, Bismillah Hotel, Cafe Amanat, Bismillah Family Mart and Lahori Samosay were fined and issued warnings for serving substandard food in unhygienic conditions.

The team also disposed of several litres of adulterated milk that was seized from several milk vendors in Khanewal. The DCO said “It is our top priority to crackdown on those selling inferior quality food and endangering people’s lives.”

He said district officers found guilty of negligence in this regard would be punished.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2015.