Restaurateurs up in arms against food authority raids

[Dubious]

1 DAY AGO BY HASSAAN AHMED

• Accuse Punjab Food Authority of conducting unwarranted raids on food outlets to make up for expenses incurred on new office
• Demand representation of owners in food authority saying ‘it lacks food experts’

A large number of owners and workers associated with different eateries from all over the city protested in front of the Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Tuesday against the “high-handedness” of the Punjab Food Authority (PFA).

The protesters were carrying placards inscribed with slogans against the ‘hyperactive’ PFA, which has been actively conducting raids on restaurants and food outlets across the city to check hygiene and food content quality.

Addressing the press conference, Ahmad Shafique, general secretary of LRA, accused the food authority of massive corruption and financial mismanagement.

“The authority has recently shifted its office to a lavish building and is trying to fill the financial gap by imposing heavy fines on the restaurants,” he alleged, adding that the food authority is portraying a negative image of the city’s restaurants by uploading ‘fake’ photographs on its Facebook (FB) page.

Doubting the authority’s intentions, Shafique questioned, “Why does the PFA remove positive comments about noted eateries from its FB page and tries to play with negative comments in a bid to seek public sympathy?”

LRA President Kamran Sheikh was of the view that the staff of the PFA is “non-technical and unaware” of modern trends of food preservation. Sheikh, who owns One Potato Two Potato (OPTP) and Gun Smoke, told Pakistan Today that he has visited almost every developed country of the world and never witnessed this sort of food inspection.

Ahmad Shafique, general secretary of LRA, while speaking to Pakistan Today said that the PFA was established in 2011 and not a single Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been issued yet. He demanded stern action against those who are dealing in unhygienic food but not at the expense of those who are operating fairly. According to him, not a single awareness campaign was launched since the inception of the PFA.

Dr Kaiser Rafiq, CEO of Options Bakers and Delights, said that he has filed a petition against the PFA in the court as the authority has sealed his outlet which also housed Lahore’s biggest aquarium. Rare fishes worth Rs 4 million died due to the PFA’s negligence, he added.

The restaurants owners demanded to have representation in the food authority, saying there was no food expert in the body. They proposed and invited PFA officials to a debate on any forum.

It is pertinent to mention here that PFA launched a rigorous campaign against the famous eateries of Lahore that include two five star hotels since the joining of its new Director Operations, Ayesha Mumtaz.

A fine of about Rs 3 million has been collected in recent days and 230 food outlets were sealed in the city in addition to 330 arrests. Repeated attempts were made to contact Ayesha Mumtaz but she didn’t respond to the calls and text messages.


http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/201...eurs-up-in-arms-against-food-authority-raids/




Apart from the red which MAY be true the rest reads something along the lines let us feed bad food to the public....

As for the blue bit was BS!


Lets see whats up next

@Armstrong stay at home and eat .....too many dirty restaurants even 5 star

 

[M.SAAD]

 

[VCheng]

Yeah, who needs clean kitchens and sanitary preparation of food anyway?

 

[kamrananvaar]

Keep up the good work punjab food authority. Atleast one dept that is doing Something!!!. Instead of just lip service

 

[saiyan0321]

I have been extremely impressed by the Food Authorities and their effort for a cleaner restraunt environment and was positively shocked when I saw one owner come on TV and say that these raids were putting Pakistan in a bad light due to the exposing the conditions... These guys are pissed abt the grade sticker their restraints will get as well. Only in Pakistan will we see protest about why we are not allowed to poison people... What next? Theives protesting saying that the police shouldn't investigate so much..... Hopefully she continues her good work and ignores the noise.

 

[kamrananvaar]

Punjab food authority should ramp up its efforts and fine these fine establishments as thats the only language they listen to .
Lets look at franchises like mcdonald, in usa or europe or anywhere else the shelf life of a mcburger is about 3- 4 minutes after which it should be dumped as even if u reheat it it loses its taste thats how mcdonald ensures the same taste but in pakistan guess whar happens they reheat it and serve you . Same thing in kfc even the standard of pizza hut iis abysmal with yesterdays dough . Went to pizza hut and even the menu card was held together with tape and the menu card was fithy dirty

I think there was a bill passed that restaurant owners had to display the full bill with taxes but only a handfull of restaurant owners did that the rest just showed rate without tax to lure customers in.

 

[airmarshal]

I agree with Food Authority raids. They should be conducted regularly to keep food industry standards to levels that make food industry product fit for consumption.

However, knowing how bureaucracy and institutions have been destroyed in Noora Punjab, I suspect something is cooking in the background. may be entry of Noora family connected food franchise or something like that.

Food Authority 'raids' are not raids at all. Here in Canada, provincial food authority conducts regular inspections and if found to be below par, cancels the annual licence on the spot which can only be renewed after penalty and dent to reputation.

It all comes down to society being law abiding. If society is not, you will always find soft corner for criminals like Ayyan and her handlers.