PFA completes second phase of water testing drive

Authority tests water samples of 1,063 plants across the province

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has completed its second phase of water testing campaign and released results on Monday.

The authority tested water of 1,063 water plants across the province while around 153 water plants were sealed.

As per laboratory analysis, 800 water filtration plants were declared pass while 105 plants were declared fail due to wrong labeling and their water was unfit for consumption, said PFA Director General Captain (retd) Muhammad Usman. He added that the water of 82 plants was found substandard in Lahore zone, 186 in Rawalpindi, 32 in Multan and 7 in Muzaffargarh.

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PFA has uploaded the complete result of the sampling campaign on its website, he said. Usman added that production of plants producing substandard water will remain suspended until new reforms are introduced.

PFA would not allow any plant to start production until it meets the requirement of food standards, said Usman. He added that water filtration plants are bound to display reports at their plants.

According to the sampling schedule, the authority would collect samples of water filtration plants four times in a year, he pointed out. He explained that PFA would check water filtration plants any time without informing them besides sampling schedule.

The director general said that specialised water safety teams are working on a regular basis to ensure the provision of clean drinking water. He added that the purpose of water filtration plants’ checking is to ensure supply of clean drinking water to the public

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2019.