Factory sealed for making oil from animal waste

RAWALPINDI:

The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on Monday sealed an illegal oil manufacturing unit involved in producing edible oil from animal waste and discarded 500 litres of substandard cooking oil.

The unit was involved in extracting unhygienic and spurious oil from animal fat for sale under the packaging of well-known brands, a statement issued in this regard read.

The food watchdog claimed legal action was initiated against the owner and staff of the manufacturing unit.

A PFA spokesperson said the unit located in the Rawal Town area was raided by their safety teams on a tip-off during which the police were called in for help after resistance from the accused.

The teams caught the accused red-handed, he said.

Food safety teams discarded 500 litres of unhealthy cooking oil, whereas more than 40 kgs of packaging material was seized and thrown into the Nullah Leh.

The spokesman said that the unhealthy cooking oil was to be sold in various shops in Rawalpindi, adding that the use of harmful oil was a major cause of fatal diseases among children and adults.

The food watchdog vowed to take legal action against persons involved in the illegal trade in order to bring them to justice.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2022.