09 January 2004	Friday	16 Ziqa'ad 1424

LAHORE, Jan 8: The drive against food adulterators failed to get desired results as the City District Government could not develop a proper system to hand down stringent punishment to the offenders.

The CDG's food squads submitted 6,624 cases against adulterators in 2003 but their fate could not be known due to lack of feedback from the courts. No action has so far been taken on the CDG's demand for separate courts at tehsil levels to decide adulteration cases.

Meanwhile, 44.77 per cent samples collected in 2003 were found adulterated. The maximum number of adulteration cases were detected in beverages. Of 1,653 samples of beverages, 1,040 were found adulterated.

Similarly, of 342 samples of sweeteners, 255 were found adulterated, of 4,164 samples of milk and milk products, 2,438 were impure; of 1,009 oils and fats samples, 571 were spurious; and of 726 fruit and vegetable products samples, 380 were unfit for human consumption.

The CDG food squad booked all prominent hotels and restaurants, beverage and soda water manufacturing units, bakeries, sweet shops and spices grinding units for failure to observe Pure Food Rules. Over 60,000 substandard soda water and spurious beverage bottles, 4,000 kgs of chilies and turmeric, 10,000 kgs of tomato ketchup and 1,000 kgs of butter and ghee were seized and 18,000 kgs of ketchup and 70,000 samosas were destroyed during an anti-adulteration campaign.