Bakery sealed for selling substandard items

Official says people who offer substandard food to face severe legal consequences

HAZRO:

The Punjab Food Authority officials raided stores and issued fines and warnings to shopkeepers for selling substandard food on Thursday.

The PFA officials raided the warehouses of milk shops and bakeries in Hazro and surrounding areas. Hazro Assistant Commissioner ordered the destruction of substandard items and sealed a bakery. The owners were summoned to their office and traders were also fined around Rs50,000 for not posting the rate list.

“Food inspections will continue, and anyone selling substandard food to the public does not deserve any concessions. People who offer substandard goods would face severe legal consequences no matter how powerful they are, said the deputy commissioner.

He directed the traders to display the rate list, or else they will be subjected to harsh penalties.

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) food branch issued 1,084 notices to food outlets for unhygienic and poor cleanliness conditions during the last nine months of the current financial year and imposed fines amount around over Rs3.4 million.

According to RCB spokesman, the board collected a large number of food samples which were sent to lab for quality testing. The cases of substandard food items were also sent to the court of the cantonment magistrate which imposed fines on the rules violators.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2022.