PFA seals betel nut unit

FA team raids factory and catches large consignment of ingredients

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has sealed a fake betel nut manufacturing unit near Multan Road in Lahore.

Acting on a tip-off, a PFA team raided the factory and caught a large consignment of ingredients, including 1,000kg of coloured supari, 900kg of raw betel nuts, 192 packets of fake supari and 25kg of artificial sweeteners.

The team also confiscated packaging material, hot plate, weighing machine, two mixers, and two packing machines.

PFA Director General Irfan Nawaz Memon said that fake supari was being manufactured by using artificial sweeteners and chemicals. Meanwhile, the raiding team also witnessed poor cleanliness arrangements and incomplete labeling on ready-to-eat products.

He added that PFA had also taken action against the factory for doing business without a food license, failing to produce a record of raw material and adulteration.

The DG further said that the use of supari causes oral cavity cancer as well as tooth decay. “According to the PFA Act, it is a heinous crime to prepare fake eatables.”

He maintained that the PFA will root out the production unit of any food business operators who will not comply with the provincial food laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2020.