The provincial food watchdog officials, under the supervision of PFA Director General Capt (retd) Muhammad Usman, conducted a seven-hour long operation in Gulberg area and recovered a huge quantity of imported food products that were being sold after reprinting new expiry dates.
The PFA DG said the authority conducted a raid in Gulberg area and recovered 7,954 kilogrammes of expired coffee flavours, tea, cocoa powder and 1,140 kilogrammes of espresso coffee. The PFA team also recovered 702 kilogrammes of Matcha green tea, 447 kilogrammes of white chocolate powder, 480 kilogrammes of imported tea, 352 kilogrammes of various kinds of powders and syrups, 1,210 kilogrammes of special Dutch hot chocolate drink, 1,620 kilogrammes of French deluxe hot vanilla drink powder, 1,328 kilogrammes of hot chocolate and 635 kilogrammes of dark chocolate.
Usman highlighted that the authority had caught the accused red-handed when they were relabeling new expiry dates on expired food products. The authority has confiscated all expired materials, including products with the tampered expiry date. The authority has also issued a notice for the provision of documentary evidence of the remaining stocks. A case has been registered with the local police against the owners of the food outlet and the warehouses.
The PFA DG disclosed that the authority has conducted this raid following a tip-off and weeks of follow up. He said indiscriminate action was being taken against adulterators and the authority has aimed to eradicate illegal activities and malpractices from the food sector.
During last week, Punjab Food Minister Samiullah Chaudhry directed the provincial food watchdog to continue the operation against adulterators. He visited the PFA Head Office and deliberated on a framework to resolve issues of the authority.
During his visit, the PFA DG briefed the minister about new laws. They also discussed food delivery laws, amendments in pure food regulations and a ban on the sale of banaspati ghee.
Chaudhry said he would request the Punjab government to form the PFA Governance Body and discuss the financial issue of the authority in line with the completion of the ongoing projects. He said the provincial cabinet has approved the recruitment of manpower in the PFA while the rest of the stages would be completed soon.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2019.
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