Over 50,000 litres of counterfeit drinks discarded

14 food and cold drinks producing units sealed in various crackdowns

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Food Safety and Halal Food Authority discarded over 50,000 litres of counterfeit cold drinks in two different crackdowns on Thursday. The crackdowns were carried out at night in Nowshera and early on Thursday morning at Acheni area of Peshawar.

Officials said that during Ramazan, they have thus far sealed 14 food and cold drinks producing units in various crackdowns.

The night squad of the authority raided a cottage industry situated in Acheni where counterfeit cold drinks were seized inside a production unit.

Food Authority Director General Riaz Khan Mehsud added that misbranding cold drinks was a common practice, but they have worked to curb the illicit business to just the suburbs and rural areas.

“Both production units were sealed, and machinery of the units were also confiscated,” Mehsud said, adding that no one has the right to play with the public’s health.

Moreover, copying national and international brands earns a bad name for the province apart from discouraging food sector investors, he added.

Director Operations and captain of the night squad Khalid Khan Khattak maintained that information regarding fake cold drinks was shared with the Emergency Response Unit. The teams responded to the complaint and seized more than 30,000 litres of fake drinks.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2019.