Increasing amounts of maize and broken rice mixed in wheat flour by mills have deprived citizens of fresh and high-quality bread.
During the preparation of flour from wheat, flour mills are allegedly adding a proportion of corn and rice powder to make extra profit. According to sources, the adulterants are brought from locations outside the flour mills and added discreetly in the production pipeline. The food department and the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) are struggling to thwart these mills.
It is feared that the adulteration of flour with maize and rice may also affect the ration bundles distributed under the Ramazan package.
In the laboratory analysis of samples taken by the food department, the gluten rate of several flour mills was found lower than the standard. The test showed that aside from wheat, maize had also been included in the production of flour.
Over the past few months, hundreds of flour mills in Punjab have been suspected of mixing maize and corn in the flour in order to reduce costs and increase their profits. Mills engaging in adulteration also make more business by selling flour at a lower price in the market.
Read: Flour adulteration cases galore
The Punjab Food Department is currently selling wheat procured by the government to flour mills at a price of Rs4,700 per maund, matching the price in the open market. Meanwhile, the price of imported wheat in Punjab ranges between Rs4,100 to Rs4,220 per maund.
On the other hand, the price of white maize is Rs2,100 per maund and broken rice around Rs3,200 per maund.
According to the sources, a large number of flour mills are reducing their cost by adding 10 per cent each of maize and broken rice with wheat to curtail costs by about Rs250 per 20 kilogramme bag.
Due to the fear of being caught, they do not grind the maize and corn inside the flour mill, but bring it from other sites in bags and dispatch it to a dispensing spot where the ground wheat is collected.
As per the food laws, the mixing of any other agricultural products in the preparation of flour is a criminal offence. According to the laws, the moisture content of flour should not exceed 13%, while gluten should not be less than 8%.
Commenting on the issue, Punjab Food Minister Bilal Yasin said that flour mills mixing maize and rice in wheat flour will face strict legal action and there will be no compromise on providing quality flour to the people.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2024.
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