LAHORE: An enforcement team of the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has discarded 14,000kg of biscuits of a popular children’s brand and sealed eight multinational food brands during a special audit. According to a handout, the audit was conducted on the directions of PFA Director General Muhammad Asim Javed.

PFA also imposed heavy fines amounting to Rs7.45 million on 27 food chains and industries for violating food safety standards.

Food safety teams inspected 28 well-known food chains and multinational factories, and sealed eight until corrective measures were taken. Teams also discarded 300kg of raw material, 200 litres of chemicals and 50kg of loose colours. Several popular beverage, biscuit, cake, chips, snacks, oil and ghee factories were sealed.

The PFA DG said that the objective of the food safety audit was to conduct a comprehensive examination of the food industry. He added that the audit report would be submitted to the Punjab chief minister and the chief secretary.

He said that after the expiry of the deadline given for improvements, factories would be re-inspected and in case of violations, their licenses would be cancelled and strict legal action would be taken.

The DG further said that it was mandatory for all food handlers whether industries or roadside eateries to undergo medical check-ups and training. He said the audit ensured compliance with food hygiene, quality, essential records and food SOPs.

Meanwhile, the 42nd board meeting of the PFA was held under the chairmanship of Price Control and Commodities Management Secretary Dr Ehsan Bhutta.

Several projects were approved during the meeting and board members were briefed on PFA’s performance.

The meeting was told that compared to previous years, enforcement actions increased by 78 percent, while registration of cases rose by 70 percent. The board appreciated PFA’s outstanding performance and directed to maintain the same pace of work.

The PFA DG informed the meeting that the authority would now conduct inspections of slaughterhouses across Punjab. He said PFA would take strict action against substandard meat and illegal slaughtering. All slaughterhouses would be developed on international standards, he added.

The DG further said a complete mechanism would be prepared for checking animals pre-mortem and post-mortem examinations, disease monitoring and vaccination records. For slaughterhouse and meat inspections, 94 veterinary specialists would be recruited. To strengthen the inspection system, new vehicles would be added to the PFA enforcement squad, ensuring more effective inspections of food points at the tehsil level.

The meeting also approved the PFA budget for the financial year 2025-26.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2025