PFA seals eight cafeterias during raids in Lahore varsities

LAHORE: Punjab Food Authority’s food safety teams on Tuesday carried out a special drive against canteens and cafeterias operating in educational institutions and hostels and inspected the food safety measures, ARY News reported.

According to a statement released by the authority, as many as 128 messes and cafeterias of private and public universities were visited by the authority in a daylong operation across the provincial capital.

The food safety teams shut down eight cafeterias including Punjab University Girls Hostel 5’s canteen and student bakers and snack bar in Lahore.

PFA’s watchdogs raided PU’s student food corner and the main cafeteria of Comsats University under the supervision of food safety officers and sealed both the units.

DG Food Authority Muhammad Usman said that the authority has sealed canteens and penalized food business operators with heavy fine over poor sanitation conditions, the presence of expired produces, use of fake ketchup and for selling carbonated drinks.

The food safety teams also found rancid oil which was being used for frying the chicken and other dishes.

The DG Food Authority further said that several cafeterias were doing business without getting medical certificates from PFA.

Usman said that hundreds of thousands of students eat from these canteens on daily basis so it is “our   key responsibility to ensure the availability of good quality food in these small food outlets”.

He said that PFA is opting for legislation regarding giving contract only those companies which are registered from PFA and through this way we can improve the quality of food as per law.