Lahore: 38% of food tested by district government adulterated

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Authorities have forwarded 1,184 challans in last six months
* Nutritionist says tainted food can cause cancer
* DFO says department doing its best to control adulteration

By Rana Kashif
LAHORE: The majority of food items being used by residents of the city are either substandard or adulterated, which may cause diseases like hepatitis and cancer.

Sources in the district government told Daily Times on Friday that every food item being used by citizens was either substandard or contains adulterants. They said that the products, including milk, milk products, edible oil, spices, beverages, fruit and vegetable products, cereals, sweets and baked products and bottled water were found to either be tainted with adulterants or did not meet the required food quality standards. They also said that the district food department had, over the last six months, conducted more than 100 special raids across the city to check the quality of food items being sold.

They said that during the raids, samples of different food items were collected, out of which almost 38 percent were found to be either adulterated or substandard. They said that the adulterants which were most commonly used were fertilisers, soda, medicines and even chemicals like formalin (a combination of formaldehyde, water and methanol), which is used to preserve dead bodies. They also said that these additives were mostly used to preserve the appearance or life of perishable food items.

Challans: The authorities concerned have sent 1,184 challans to courts against unhygienic food conditions at different food outlets, restaurants, hotels and bakers. Sources revealed that during the same time period, they seized 28,018 bottles of fake soft drinks; 7,556 bottles of local brands; 3,573 kg of red chilli; 40 kg of turmeric; 40 kg of coriander seed; 368 bottles of purified drinking water; 15 soda water factories; 13 champa and 1 filler machine.

Cancer: Nutritionist Doctor Shehla Javed Akram, when asked about the effects of such adulterants on human health, said that it depended on the kind of adulterants used. She said that the use of substandard bottled water and adulterated milk, which contained water from ponds, could cause diarrhoea and dysentery, while the use of thickeners caused cancer.

She said that, unfortunately, food adulteration was a very common phenomenon in the country, however, adequate measures were not taken to eradicate the menace. She also said that there was a need to promote the concept of generalised checking and standard food testing laboratories, adding that those responsible for such practices should be punished severely under the law.

Level best: District Food Officer (DFO) Doctor Masood Ashraf told Daily Times that the department, under the directions of the district co-ordination officer (DCO) Lahore, was doing its level best to control adulteration. He said that during the last six months they had collected more than 5,000 samples of food and had sent more than 1,800 challans to the courts concerned against those responsible after taking laboratory tests of the food samples.

He also admitted that the adulterators used adulterants that could cause serious diseases like cancer or result in death. He said that under the Punjab Pure Food Rules, 2008, an adulterator could be imprisoned for up to three years and fined up to Rs 100,000. “We can only send the challan to courts because awarding punishment is not within our jurisdiction.” To another question about how many adulterators had so far been punished, he said that during his tenure no one responsible for food adulteration had been imprisoned.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg13_1