Quality check: New food testing lab to open next year

Minister says Rs200 million to be spent on project.

LAHORE: “The provincial government is setting up a food testing laboratory at Birdwood Road. The facility, being set up at a cost of Rs200 million, would become functional next year,” said Food Minister Bilal Yasin on Wednesday.

He was addressing a project review meeting after inspecting the quality of construction at the site. He said the government had procured equipment worth Rs90 million and had employed qualified professionals to train the workforce to effectively manage the laboratory. Yasin said the new laboratory would provide prompt results after testing food samples.

“Latest equipment will reduce the incidences of sale of adulterated and substandard food,” he said. “Procurement of the laboratory will provide testing services to the food industry and will help them cut their costs,” he said.

He said food testing laboratories were also being set-up in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala.

The minister said the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) had launched a crackdown on the sale of adulterated and substandard food products.

“Scores of food outlets have been checked for violations of food laws. This has given a positive message to the international market. We have shown that Pakistan has a responsible food industry.”

Yasin said the food testing laboratory would be inaugurated on December 31.

The meeting was attended by Food Secretary Dr Pervaiz Ahmad, the Food Department additional secretary and other senior officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2016.