The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) carried out a province-wide inspection of public and private hospitals’ canteens to ensure provision of healthy and standard food for patients’ attendants, hospital employees and the general public.
PFA Director General Muddassir Riaz Malik said in a press statement issued on Tuesday that the authority teams inspected 272 canteens of different teaching hospitals, district headquarters hospitals, tehsil headquarters hospitals and healthcare centres across Punjab.
The teams inspected 125 canteens in Lahore Zone, 86 in Rawalpindi Zone and 61 in South Punjab, and imposed heavy fine on 48 Food Business Operators (FBOs).
The authority also served warning notices on 211 canteens in the province for improving food and premises standards.
He said that action was taken against violators (FBOs) for using adulterated milk, selling substandard drinks, frying fritters in reused oil and poor cleanliness arrangements.
Apart from that, workers of the different canteens did not have medical certificates.
He said the authority not only imposed fine but also discarded 189 litres of inferior quality drinks, 65 litres of impure milk and a huge quantity of other substandard edibles.
