KP Food Authority destroys over 1,500kg of unsafe food items
PESHAWAR (APP): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority on Thursday launched a major crackdown against food adulteration across the province, seizing and destroying more than 1,500 kilogrammes of hazardous and substandard food items.
According to a spokesperson for the Food Authority, food safety teams carried out operations against food production units and business establishments in Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda and Hangu.
The action was taken on the directives of the Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Governor’s Adviser on Food, Home and Tribal Affairs and Women Empowerment, Kifayatullah.
During the province-wide crackdown, large quantities of adulterated and substandard food products were confiscated and destroyed, while heavy fines also imposed on those involved in violations.
Sharing details of the major operations, the spokesperson said food safety teams, in coordination with the district administration, inspected spice manufacturing units in Peshawar, where adulteration involving broken rice, cumin seeds, wheat husks and non-food-grade colours was detected.
The production unit involved in preparing substandard spices was sealed, while approximately 1,200 kilogrammes of adulterated and substandard spices were seized.
Similarly, food safety teams inspected units manufacturing gur (jaggery) and sweets in Sikandari area of Mardan, where 250 kilogrammes of spoiled jaggery were destroyed on the spot. A heavy fine was also imposed on a unit found manufacturing muranda (a traditional sweet snack) using substandard jaggery.
In another operation in Tangi Bazaar of Charsadda, the use of non-food-grade colours and chemicals in jaggery production was detected. The food safety team recovered and seized more than 200 kilogrammes of sugar and other materials used in the manufacturing process, while fines were imposed on those responsible.
Other food businesses in Tangi Bazaar were also inspected and corrective notices issued to ensure compliance with food safety standards.
The spokesperson further said that in Hangu’s main bazaar, the food safety team destroyed approximately 70 kilogrammes of substandard sweets and 30 kilogrammes of inferior-quality cooking oil on the spot. Two bakeries were also fined for maintaining poor hygiene conditions.
Governor’s Adviser on Food, Home and Tribal Affairs and Women Empowerment Kifayatullah said the objective of the Food Authority was not to shut down businesses but to ensure the provision of safe and quality food to the public.
He urged citizens to identify those involved in selling substandard and adulterated food and immediately report such activities to the Food Authority so that timely and effective action could be taken against elements playing with public health.
