Punjab Food Authority fines five hotels

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on Sunday launched a campaign to examine three, four, and five-star hotels across Punjab.

The campaign was launched on the directions of PFA Director General Irfan Memon. PFA enforcement teams inspected 32 hotels, sealed one hotel kitchen, and imposed fines on five hotels besides serving improvement notices to 25 hotels. Apart from that, five food business operators were penalized with hefty fines over violations.

According to data, food safety teams visited three hotels each in Faisalabad and Sialkot, 11 in Lahore and five each in Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, and South Punjab. DG Irfan Memon said that Royalton Hotel’s kitchen was sealed overuse of loose adulterated spices in the preparation for food and over expired beverages.

He said that fines were imposed on five hotels thanks to using rotten vegetables, fungus-infested food items, and poor arrangements of cleanliness. Warning notices were also served on violation of hygiene standards to 25 hotels. He added that PFA watchdog teams discarded a huge quantity of food, including expired beverages, bread, and hazardous food items. Moreover, he said that positive change was seen after establishing training schools and daily inspections.