ISLAMABAD: Two food outlets in Super Market were fined for violating laws related to food and labour on Thursday, capital administration officials said.

Assistant Commissioner City Saad bin Asad, accompanied by other capital administration officials, visited various food outlets in Super Market, including Khiva and Atrio, to check their sanitary condition, the condition of the food served to customers and the implementation of labour laws.

When contacted, Mr Asad said Khiva and Atrio were fined Rs150,000.

He said the employees of both restaurants were being paid below minimum wage; while minimum wage has been set at Rs15,000, employees were being paid Rs12,000 to Rs13,000.

He said the outlets had about two dozen employees, but at the time of their visit only a few were available.

In addition, he said, expired food items were found in their freezers, including items that were still being stored despite having expired a month ago.

Food items were also found that did not have an expiry date, he said, adding that poor hygiene was also spotted at the restaurants.

The official said staff working at the restaurant were not wearing gloves and caps, and they had not been vaccinated.

He said they were put under observation and given a week to follow the rules, including paying minimum wage, vaccinating the staff and ensuring hygienic conditions.

Separately, the police’s Special Investigation Unit arrested two alleged drug peddlers and recovered narcotics from them, police said.

An SIU team arrested two people, allegedly for supplying heroin and hashish in educational institutions, they said. A total 1.01 kilograms of hashish and 120 grams of heroin were also recovered.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2017