RAWALPINDI: Edibles offered by roadside stalls and shops are not being checked by the Cantonment Board (RCB) and Punjab Food Authority, allowing for the continued sale of substandard and unhygienic food products.

Stalls have been set up in Saddar, on Bank Road, the Mall, Hospital Road, Murree Road and in Raja Bazaar and the city areas, but teams from the health department or the Punjab food department have not taken samples or checked the quality of their products.

According to the Punjab Pure Food Act, shopkeepers are supposed to keep their shops clean and all food items, particularly those sold on the side of the road, are to be properly covered.

Over 100 people have visited BBH complaining of stomach problems caused by substandard fried food, doctor says

However, food inspectors have not visited any part of these markets in Ramazan. In fact, most government officials visit the markets during inspections by the provincial ministers or the chief minister.

The sale of sub-standard food items may also be leading to an increase in people visiting government-run hospitals with symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhoea.

“More than 100 patients visited Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) in the last three days. Interestingly, all of them had developed health problems after eating pakoras and samosas from roadside stalls,” Dr Haider Akhter claimed.

He said people should avoid buying food made in substandard oil and using substandard ingredients in the summer. Dr Akhter added that the government was responsible for ensuring that food outlets and restaurants are properly checked.

A patient at the BBH emergency ward, Mohammad Kamran, said he had been suffering from stomach problems after breaking his fast with pakoras and samosas bought from a stall on Murree Road in front of a well-known sweet shop. The doctors have advised him not to eat an excessive amount of fried foods.

Another emergency department patient Tahir Bashir said he had his colleagues had been eating pakoras and samosas for iftari, which had landed him in the hospital. Mr Bashir said that the food department should check samosa filling, as shopkeepers used old fillings in their samosas.

RCB spokesperson Qaiser Mehmood told Dawn that the board’s health branch has been directed to check the quality of food being sold at stalls and food outlets, and prices would also be monitored.

He said stalls or outlets found by the RCB to be selling substandard food items would have their permission cancelled.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2018