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Food safety teams inspect over 460 public, private schools’ canteens, issue warning notices to 279
LAHORE: A special province-wide drive was carried out in order to ensure the implementation of “Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Educational Instructions Food Standards Regulation” in public and private sector schools by the PFA on Saturday.
The food safety teams (FSTs) led by respective area food safety officers (FSO) inspected 464 canteens of different schools and ensured the ban on the sale of carbonated drinks and chooran (a flavoured and chemically treated edible salt).
In this regard, PFA Additional Director General (Operations) Rafia Haider said that the teams sealed the canteens of 17 schools including 8 in the Lahore zone, 5 in Rawalpindi and 4 in the Multan zone during the day-long action. The teams also imposed a heavy fine to 168 canteens and served warning notices to 279.
She said that the FSTs conducted thousands of follow up visits among schools located across Punjab for rechecking that the schools were strictly following a ban on carbonated drinks or not. She further said that only those products could be put on sale in school canteens which fell in either the green or yellow category lists of the PFA. She also said that the parents should prefer giving a healthy lunchbox to their children.
The ADG operations further said that an action was being taken against the violators as per the law and no one violations would be tolerated.
Calling on the parents, students and faculty members of educational institutions to report the food authority in case of any violations and food-related issues, Rafia also said that an awareness campaign was started to aware the masses especially parents and children about “Safe and Hearty foods”.
