RAWALPINDI: Before the formation of the local government, the Punjab government has separated food safety and hygiene of restaurants and food outlets from the health department.

In Rawalpindi, the District Food Authority (DFA) has already been formed and its office at Chandni Chowk was inaugurated by provincial minister for food Bilal Yasin on Tuesday. District food authorities have also been established in Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.

However, the Punjab government is yet to appoint the chairman of the authority in the garrison city.

At the inaugural ceremony, Minister Yasin was accompanied by PFA Rawalpindi Director General Noorul Amin Mengal, Director (operations) Rafia Haider, Vice Chairman District Market Committee Maqbool Khan and PML-N workers.

Interestingly, no senior officer of the district government, health department or any local PML-N elected representative attended the ceremony.

Talking to newsmen, the minister said special teams had been formed to raid eateries involved in selling unhygienic food. He said strict action would be taken against those involved in selling unhygienic food and edibles.

He said the PFA office was set up to launch its operation in Rawalpindi district with an aim to ensure the availability of safe and pure food to the citizens.

“An intelligence wing will be established for the food authority and retired officials of intelligence agencies will be hired for detecting hotels and restaurants involved in selling unhygienic food items.”

He said the authority was established under the Punjab Food Authority Act 2011.

He said the authority had already covered the whole Lahore division and established its wings in Faisalabad and Gujranwala. “Today its operation has been launched in the Rawalpindi district too,” he said.

“A separate office would be set up for Murree soon. The authority is also going to open a wing in Multan.”

The minister said the raiding teams were facilitated with a mobile lab to check the quality of food items on the spot.

In accordance with the vision and directives of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, all districts would have such offices by the end of next year. The provincial government is making all-out efforts for the provision of quality food items to the citizens, he said.

“Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan should get married for the third time because after Supreme Court verdict on Panama Leaks case he would have nothing to do,” the minister said in reply to a question from a journalist.

Later, the minister raided two food outlets in Commercial Market and the food street and imposed a fine of Rs700,000 on their owners for unhygienic conditions and substandard ghee being used for preparing the food items.

He also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on a Savor Foods outlet in the food street after its kitchen workers were found without gloves and proper personal hygiene. Besides, no date was mentioned on the food items stored in the deep freezers.

The minister also visited the kitchen of a KFC outlet in the Commercial Market where ghee or the cooking oil was not of a satisfactory quality. He imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on the outlet.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2016