PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Food Samiullah Chaudhry on Thursday said oil and ghee manufacturing companies had been directed to maintain quality production standards.
He expressed these views while responding to questions regarding urban development and public health engineering during the session of Punjab Assembly which started one hour behind its schedule time with Panel of Chairman Mian Shafi in the chair.
During the session, the food minister said that notices had been issued to oil and ghee companies on manufacturing substandard oil and ghee items, adding that Punjab Food Authority (PFA) was striving to ensure availability of standardised and quality commodities for the people.
He said the PFA had inspected 3,488 hotels during 2018 and sealed 29 hotels and restaurants on unhygienic food besides imposing fines on 288 hotels.
‘Only 40% of manufactured ghee, oil fit for humans’
The minister said the PFA had also taken action against the manufacturing of bottles with used and substandard plastic and in this regard, the authority inspected 121 plastic bottles' manufacturing units.
The PFA had issued notices to 13 plastic manufacturing units to stop production, besides sealing four such units, he maintained. The minister said that action was also taken against the manufacturing of cooking oil and ghee products from offal and animals' waste, adding that slaughterhouses had been directed to stop the sale of animals' waste to those involved in making substandard oil. He said the PFA checked 425 oil and ghee units and sealed 86 for producing oil items from animals' remaining, whereas nine such units were also fined, he added.
He said 4,365 litre unhygienic oil was disposed of by the authority. The minister said it was among the top priorities of the food department to take action against adulteration.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2019.
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