KARACHI:
Over the years, Lahore’s cuisine has garnered much attention and drawn tourists from all over the country to street food in Lahore. My family and I frequently visit Androon Lahore to enjoy the delicious food and our experience is usually satisfactory. However, a recent visit landed all of us in the hospital because of food poisoning. Many others have reported falling sick after consuming street food or food from different restaurants around the city. The decline in food quality is alarming and requires the immediate attention of the authorities.
Punjab Food Authority should tighten rules and regulations for quality control and ensure that all the eateries are following them. Regular checks and unannounced visits will compel restaurants around the city to maintain good standards and ensure safe conditions. The use of harmful ingredients should be banned, and only certified ingredients and healthy animals should be used by restaurants. Around the world, eateries dispose of old or expired ingredients daily to avoid contamination; Pakistani restaurants should do the same. Also, restaurants should train their staff under health and hygiene protocols and emphasise hygienic behaviour to prevent disease or bacteria spread. Restaurants must ensure pest control in kitchens and dining areas and conduct regular fumigations to maintain a clean dining environment.
The unhygienic and unhealthy food from restaurants can cause more damage than an epidemic outbreak. Therefore, those found violating the health and safety protocols should be faced with strict punishments and must not be allowed to conduct business as usual without changing their practices.
Zainab Mehdi
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2022.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
