Balochistan Food Authority operation in full swing, fines 30 food outlets

QUETTA: Balochistan Food Authority’s (BFA) crackdown is ongoing in various districts of the province against the elements involved in food adulteration.

In this regard, BFA headquarters Quetta and divisional food safety teams imposed fines on 1 baking unit sale, 9 spice shops and 20 food centers including 7 milk vendors and milk suppliers. Fines were imposed on 9 spice shops during the operation in Circular Road area of Quetta.

According to the inspection teams, the fined shops were selling open and Chinese salt and spices mixed with bad color, the sale of which is banned by BFA, while the owners of the centers did not even have food business licenses.

Owners have been directed to sell only packaged and labeled spices in their shops, on which all the ingredients and manufacturing and expiry dates are displayed, provided to which the shop owners were strictly warned to ensure implementation.

Apart from this, 2 Malik shops and 3 Malik suppliers supplying Hub milk from Karachi were fined for supplying and selling adulterated and unhealthy milk in Hub.

The inspection teams under the leadership of Director Operations Headquarters Tariq Hussain and Divisional Director Kalat Sajjad Ali inspected the milk brought from Karachi by blocking the milk shops in the hub and the entrances of the city to evaluate the quality of milk provided to the citizens.

Quality checked, 5 milk samples tested on site with the help of mobile laboratory were mixed with bulk quantity of dry milk and water.

In addition, on the special instructions of Director General Balochistan Food Authority Muhammad Naeem Bazai, under the leadership of Director Operations Headquarters Tariq Hussain, food safety officials along with Divisional Director Sajjad Ali also inspected the production units of various items in the hub, including the production process of items.

Various issues were found to be satisfactory, however production unit owners were directed to obtain registration and license from BFA as per rules.