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Peshawar, In a stringent pre-Eid crackdown on food adulteration, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority has intensified its operations across the province, leading to the seizure and destruction of contaminated food items, including sweets, eggs, and beverages. The authority’s spokesperson announced that several businesses were penalized with heavy fines for non-compliance with food safety regulations.
According to Directorate General Information and PRs – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, food safety teams conducted raids on cold drink and milk shops, utilizing a modern mobile food testing lab to check the quality of food items on-site. One notable operation led to the confiscation of 100 kg of unhealthy sweets, 500 grams of non-food grade color, and rotten eggs from a bakery unit, which was subsequently sealed due to poor sanitary conditions. Additionally, fines were levied against two bakery units and three tuck shops for hygiene violations.
In SWAT, the food safety team’s inspection of bakery units in Matta Bazar resulted in the seizure of 2,400 stale eggs from a single bakery unit, with the owners facing significant fines under the Food Safety Act. Similarly, in Swabi, a surprise raid on a beverage distribution unit led to the seizure of approximately 4,000 liters of fake and harmful drinks, resulting in the sealing of the warehouse.
Director General Food Safety Authority Wasif Saeed commended the successful operations and instructed inspection teams to regularly monitor sweets production units province-wide. Emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy against food adulteration, Saeed stated that the mission of the Food Authority is to eradicate food adulteration, ensuring the health and safety of the public.