ISLAMABAD, Feb 27: The Federal Food Committee on Wednesday condemned the Pakistan Flour Mills Association’s threat to increase the flour price. It vowed not to bow to any pressure of the millers for withdrawing Rangers and Frontier Constabulary guarding the wheat supply lines.

In a meeting, the FFC termed the Tuesday’s threat by the PFMA to jack up the flour price back to Rs480 per 20 kg bag or even more as uncalled far and warned that no “individual” had the right or power to increase the price of any food item on its own, sources told Dawn.

After the flour price brought down to Rs300 per 20 kg from Rs500 a few weeks back, it has again started rising in the NWFP and other parts of the country.

The sources said the PFMA was now putting pressure on the FFC to call back over 5,000 Rangers and FC personnel, who were deployed at the gates of mills and supply lines to discourage illegal trade and ensure that mills crushed all the wheat taken from government godowns at subsidised rates.

The PFMA has also objected to the FFC’s move to test flour supplied by the mills to the market.

In Punjab, 886 flour samples have been taken, 99 of which were tested and more than half (51) were found substandard as they contained moisture beyond the allowed limits. Extra moisture causes fungus in flour and reduces its shelf life.

The Sindh Food Department is not willing to collect samples of flour from the mills operating there. Balochistan also does not seem ready to take action against mills responsible for providing harmful wheat during the crisis.

The committee reiterated that the Sindh government must collect flour samples from mills as the province had collected only 27 samples so far from 142 mills operating in the province and take action against those responsible for supplying spoilt flour to people.

The committee also decided that the dealers would now get permits within a day to supply flour to the NWFP from mills operating in Punjab. In the NWFP, flour price has again touched Rs400 per 20 kg compared to the official rate of less than Rs300.