‘Where is Ayesha Mumtaz?’

Looking back at the PFA’s performance over 2015

LAHORE:

While the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) kicked off the year  with an unrelenting campaign, it failed to sustain the momentum towards the end of 2015 following an alleged snub by a business owned by a leader of the ruling party.

Senior PFA officials rejected the report. However, it became the talk of the town. Many who had earlier praised the indiscriminate actions by the authority on social media then rapped the government for reducing the PFA to a typical submissive department.

Ayesha Mumtaz, the star PFA operations director, has since disappeared from the limelight. Mumtaz, who made headlines in 2015 after imposing penalties on five-star establishments, multinational food chains and famous indigenous brands, has been silently discharging routine duties leaving PFA fans on its Facebook page inquisitive about her whereabouts.

“I was on medical leave when the story went viral on social media regarding some food authority officials being barred from entering a milk processing unit owned by the ruling family,” PFA Director General Sajid Mahmood Chauhan told The Express Tribune.  Chauhan said momentarily he had believed the rumour. However, he said he later came across Mumtaz’s statement on social media wherein she had denied the report and clarified that she had been abroad on a training course.

“I believe social media is a catalyst for change. It has played a great role in raising awareness regarding the importance food safety, regulations and the functions of the authority…I believe 2015 has been a great year for the PFA,” he said. Chauhan said the authority had gone dormant on social media in accordance with court orders.

In 2015, PFA successfully sensitised legislators and rallied opinion towards stringent legislation on food that was promulgated by the Provincial Assembly. Organising a food safety inspection training of assistant commissioners and master trainers for all districts across the Punjab and training of Lahore Cantt officials was another feather in its cap. “I personally conducted a training session for Islamabad Capital Territory officials,” the PFA supremo told The Express Tribune.

Responding to a query, Chauhan said earlier district government officials, even sanitary inspectors, had been functioning as food safety officers.

But now, he said, the authority had qualified food technologists working for it. Chauhan said the PFA had a capable team of food safety officers responsible for all nine towns of the provincial metropolis. He said the PFA had managed to create a buzz and would try to sustain it by premising its work on science next year.

Under the new law, the authority had categorised food businesses and offences to streamline its enforcement. Rampant use of rancid oil in food products was one of the biggest problems prevalent across the sector. However, the PFA managed to arrest the trend by successfully raising awareness on this front during 2015. Another success of the authority was the voluntary registration of over 100 restaurants and eateries under its restaurant-grading system.

Though, the PFA was still compiling performance data for the year, Parliamentary Secretary for Food Chaudhry Asadullah recently told the PA that over 64,000 food samples had been collected and over Rs20 million in fines were imposed by it over the first three quarters of 2015. He informed the house that over 5,000 FIRs had been lodged and 770 people were nabbed for food-related offences over the same period.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2015.