ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday apprised the Senate that state-of-the-art Islamabad Food Authority will be set up in the capital in the next few months to check the quality of food items in the province.
In response to various supplementary questions, the minister said that a food laboratory would also be set up to check adulteration of food items. The authority would be a role model for other provinces to follow, he added.
He said the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the health department, ICT administration, food department, and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) were responsible for checking the quality of edible food items in the city.
He said that district food controller, assistant food controller, food and sanitary inspectors of the health department were deputed for the said task. The minister further said that around 586 samples of different food items have been taken since 2016 and 29 premises were sealed, besides sending 241 notices to offenders.
A total of 108,810 litres of milk was checked out of which 74,610 litres was found to be substandard and was destroyed at the spot. A total of 32 complaints were submitted in the court against the owners of milk and dairy farms under section 169/273 of Pakistan Penal Code, he added.