The PFA has, since 2012, sealed 1,185 factories
producing substandard food items and has taken out several popular milk,
oil and ketchup brands. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Two years after its launch, the Punjab Food Authority (PFA),
after two years of being functional, is set to extend its operations to
five districts by July, The Express Tribune has learnt.
The authority was established on July 2, 2012, to ensure the quality
of food in the province. While the PFA has been operating in the
provincial metropolis since then, it had had no setup in other
districts.
The authority is making final arrangements to open an office in Faisalabad in March.
The government has allocated Rs100 million for offices in Multan,
Rawalpindi and Gujranwala. However, the authority is not sure when the
funds would be released. Approval of Rs35 million for the office in
Faisalabad was granted last year.
The PFA had advertised 27 vacancies for its Faisalabad office. It
received 3,000 applications for nine food safety officer posts and 18
assistant food safety officer. The authority will decide the officers in
10 days. They will be trained for 15 days after the joining date.
PFA officials told
The Express Tribune that the next office
would be opened in Rawalpindi first, then Gujranwala and finally Multan.
The process of hiring officers for these districts would begin a month
after the office in Faisalabad opens.
The PFA plans to request the government to expand its operations from
the district to division level. The office in Lahore would extend
operations to Kasur, Nankana Sahib and Sheikhupura. The authority will
request the government to expand operation to Okara and Sahiwal
districts.
The PFA has, since 2012, sealed 1,185 factories producing substandard
food items and has taken out several popular milk, oil and ketchup
brands. It has collected Rs9.8m as fines and Rs885,000 as license fees.
Director General Asad Islam Mahani said he hoped to have offices in
five districts by July. A deadline had not been set and all plans were
subject to availability of funds, he said.
Mahani said the authority also planned to establish specialised cells
for research on materials used to manufacture oil, ghee, beverages and
dairy products
