Various food businesses penalized for hygiene violations in Multan

MULTAN, Sep 28 (APP): On the directions of Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Director General Raja Mansoor Ahmed, food safety teams continued inspections of food businesses across the Multan division and imposed heavy fines for violations.

The food points included sweets and bakeries, hotels and restaurants, hospital canteens and other food points.

Several food business operators were fined heavily for selling substandard food and maintaining poor hygiene conditions, while 10 kilogrammes of substandard food was discarded during the inspections.

According to details, PFA teams inspected various food points in Multan, Khanewal, Vehari and Lodhran. In Multan, three sweets and bakeries located at Chowk Double Phatak, Muzaffarabad Phatak and Qasim Pur colony were fined a combined Rs55,000 for stagnant dirty water in washing areas, failure to keep food covered and infestation of insects in storage areas.

A restaurant at DHA Shopping Arcade was fined Rs25,000 for an unclean freezer and dirty water containers, while a hotel near the railway station was fined Rs15,000 for failing to install a water filter and maintaining poor sanitation.

In Khanewal, the canteen of DHQ hospital was fined Rs15,000 for selling expired beverages and keeping untraceable cream. A canteen at Tehsil Headquarters hospital Kabirwala was also fined Rs15,000 for using China salt and open spices in food.

A sweets and bakery outlet in Block 6, Ghareebabad, Jahanian, was fined Rs15,000 for keeping expired snacks and selling substandard samosa sheets, while a milk shop on Farm road, Khanewal, was fined Rs15,000 for failing to maintain the required quality of milk.

In Vehari, a spice grinding unit on Khanewal road was fined Rs50,000 for poor sanitation and heavy insect infestation. A grocery store in UBL Bank Wali Gali, Burewala, was fined Rs35,000 for an unclean floor, insect infestation and failure to keep food items covered.

In Lodhran, a sweets and bakery outlet on Multan road, Makhdoom Wali, was fined Rs25,000 for selling expired food items. Meanwhile, a food outlet at Adda Pull 4, Dunyapur, was fined Rs10,000 for storing meat on the floor and failing to maintain an oil-change record.