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LAHORE, Mar 24 (APP):The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has tightened the noose around the suppliers of dead and emaciated chickens in Lahore by placing screening pickets at the entry points of the provincial metropolis.
To monitor the ongoing crackdown against vendors selling unhealthy chicken, PFA Director General Muhammad Asim Javaid conducted a visit to meat shops in Tollinton Market here on Sunday. He said that PFA imposed hefty fines on two meat shops, served warning notices on 12 food business operators (FBOs) and issued improvement notices to two others.
Moreover, the authority discarded 61kg of stale meat and 400kg of dead chickens during the operation.
The meat safety teams will thoroughly inspect the vehicles transporting chicken flocks to local poultry shops in Lahore to meet the daily consumption. He said that the decision was taken to control the sale and purchase of sick, emaciated and dead chickens’ meat by following the directions of Punjab Chief Minister.
The DG said that the authority took action against FBOs after recovering hundreds of kilograms dead chickens from chicken-carrying vehicles. Furthermore, the butchers had stored expired and malodorous meat in the freezers at meat shops, but the PFA took action by discarding all unhygienic meat in accordance with the Punjab Pure Food Regulations.
Apart from that, FBOs also failed to present the meat supply record to the raiding teams on the spot, he added.
Muhammad Asim Javaid further said that the sale of underweight, sick or dead chickens will not be tolerated at any cost. He directed FBOs to ensure the food standards during the holy month of Ramadan.