Citizens action: DCO sets cash rewards for information on food adulteration

Says those endangering people’s health will be taken to task

FAISALABAD: District Coordination Officer Noorul Amin Mengal said on Saturday that Rs10,000 would be paid to any citizen who provided authorities information on food adulteration.

He was chairing a meeting of the Food Quality Control Board.

Expressing concern over adulteration of food, the DCO said those endangering the health of people for profit would be taken to task.

He said the district administration had launched a crackdown against food adulteration mafia.

He said citizens’ participation was essential to make the campaign a success.

The DCO said 20 Health Department teams had formed to raid factories and inspect quality of ingredients being used.

He said owners of factories, restaurants, hotels, bakeries and cafes should display hotline [phone] for the control room of the district administration at their premises. He said licences of those found flouting the rule would be revoked. The DCO was told that as many as 65 samples had been taken by Health Department teams in various raids this month.

He was told that 38 of the samples were found to be unfit for consumption by the Public Analyst Laboratory.

Officials of the Livestock Department told the DCO 8,762 raids had been conducted in a crackdown against butchers selling substandard meat and 1,180 challans forwarded for prosecution.

They said the butchers were fined Rs645,000. They said 12,329 kilogrammes of substandard meat was seized.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2015.