‘Unhealthy food making the public obese, sick’

PFA vows to fight contaminated edibles till they are eliminated

LAHORE: Medics and nutritionists believe that manufacturers of adulterated food have made the public prone to obesity, blood pressure and cancer.

Dr Farhan Gohar of the Services Hospital says every second person has obesity, heart or stomach problems due to the consumption of unhealthy food, which is easily available. He warns that such edibles are detrimental to health and trigger symptoms of long-term blood pressure, food poisoning, acne, acidity, stomach issues, body odour, allergies, obesity, cancer and diabetes.

“It is unfortunate that most of the big restaurants use dirty materials and methods to prepare food. Moreover, there must be control over the sale of fried items on the roadside as our children are attracted to them.”



While talking to The Express Tribune, Mayo Hospital’s Dr Salman Kazmi says people consume unhygienic foods and drinks in spades, specially shakes and juices from the market.

“Dining out, takeaway, frozen and processed food options have already introduced a lot of uncertainty to our diet.” He adds that along with the lenient behaviour of the government towards manufacturers, people no longer care about how their food is prepared. He advises the public to refrain from eating food which does not meet proper standards of hygiene.

“Children buy shakes wrapped in beautiful packages and these are far worse than similar items made at home.” He strongly suggests people avoid consuming such shakes, bakery items, juices, biscuits, nimko and milk from the market.

The Punjab food Authority (PFA) has sealed several factories and shops involved in making unhygienic edible items, including sweets and oil. According to a PFA press release, “Some factories are producing adulterated beverages which are impacting the health of our future generation. These people ruin the future of the country in order to get easy money,” it states.

It adds contaminated food has been around for a long time due to the use of low quality cooking oil and unsanitary methods. “PFA has begun a crackdown and the authority will continue to work until all such shops are closed altogether.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2017.