LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) sealed four food businesses, including two restaurants in Gulberg, on Tuesday.

The authority sealed Taipei Restaurant in Gulberg for using expired products, presence of insects, improper cleanliness and other issues. It also sealed Tuscany Restaurant in the same area over preserved food level, use of rancid oil, improper labelling on food articles and poor hygiene, said a handout.

Another team inspected the Gourmet Foods Dairy Section in Sundar Industrial Estate and sealed it over non-compliance with food safety standards. The teams sealed pizza and sweets sections of Gourmet Foods during a raid on production site in Bhobhatian Chowk on the Defence Road. Both sections were sealed for covering sweets with a dirty cloth, unavailability of filter record, presence of pests and violating instructions of the PFA. The authority also discarded around 240kg low-quality fruit and vegetables, 25 bottles of versatile syrup and 60 litres beverages during inspected the quality of food in Ramazan Bazaars.

Similarly, the PFA inspected food businesses in all the districts of Punjab and imposed fine tickets of Rs191,500 on 29 food business operators (FBOs) over violations of food laws. The authority imposed Rs35,000 fine on food outlets in Lahore, Rs14,000 on two outlets in Multan, Rs29,000 fine on seven shops in Rawalpindi, Rs5,000 on two FBOs in Sargodha, Rs58,000 on nine eateries and Rs85,500 fine on eateries in DG Khan.

The PFA discarded a huge quantity of substandard products during operation including 124litres beverages, 280kg butter, 680kg fruits and vegetables, 25kg toffee, snacks, pepper and other adulterated food products. It served notices on more than 2,000 food points for improvement during raids. Its food lab analysed 2,073 food samples and of them, 462 failed set parameters.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2018