Punjab govt taking steps to ensure provision of quality food items, PA told
LAHORE, Dec 19 (APP): Punjab Minister for Food Samiullah Chaudhry on Thursday said that oil and ghee manufacturing companies had been directed to maintain quality production standards.
He expressed these views while responding to questions regarding the urban development & public health engineering during the current session of Punjab Assembly which started one hour behind its schedule time with Panel of Chairman Mian Shafi in the chair.
During the session, the food minister said that notices had been issued to oil and ghee companies on manufacturing substandard oil and ghee items, adding that Punjab Food Authority (PFA) was striving to ensure availability of standardized and quality commodities for the people.
He said the PFA had inspected 3,488 hotels during 2018 and sealed 29 hotels and restaurants on unhygienic food besides imposing fines on 288 hotels.
The minister said the PFA had also taken action against manufacturing of bottles with used and substandard plastic and in this regard, the authority inspected 121 plastic bottles’ manufacturing units.
The PFA had issued notices to 13 plastic manufacturing units to stop production, besides sealing four such units, he maintained.
The minister said that action was also taken against manufacturing of cooking oil and ghee products from offals and animals’ waste, adding that slaughter houses had been directed to stop sale of animals’ waste to those involved in making substandard oil.
He said the PFA checked 425 oil and ghee units and sealed 86 for producing oil items from animals’ remainings, whereas nine such units were also fined, he added.
He said that 4,365 liter unhygienic oil was disposed of by the authority.
The minister said it was among top priorities of the Food department to take action against adulteration.
He said that meat safety teams of PFA conducted visits to inspect the meat being sold at shops and slaughter houses, adding that in this regard, the authority had also imposed fines on 27 shopkeepers besides sealing nine shopkeepers for selling unhygienic meat.
Addressing on floor of the house, Parliamentary Secretary Urban Development Malik Taimoor said that the previous governments did nothing for provision of clean drinking water to people, adding that past rulers had spent billions of rupees on showcase projects like Metro bus and Orange Line Train but they ignored the basic rights of citizens of having clean drinking water.
The PA’s session on completion of agenda was adjourned till December 20 (Friday) at 9 am.
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