Various food points penalised for hygiene violations

MULTAN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jul, 2026) Acting on the directives of Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Director General Syed Musa Raza, food safety teams carried out extensive inspections of bakeries, restaurants, pizza outlets, snack units, soda water points and other food businesses across Multan, Khanewal and Vehari districts, imposing heavy fines and taking strict enforcement action against violators.

During the province-wide operation aimed at ensuring the availability of safe and quality food, a water filtration plant in Tibba Sultanpur, Vehari, was ordered to suspend production until improvement.

The teams also disposed of 40 litres of repeatedly used cooking oil (rinsed oil) and 15 kilograms of substandard food items.

In Multan, a well-known restaurant on old Shujaabad road, Kayan Pur, was fined Rs25,000 for unhygienic conditions in the kitchen and washing area and for storing food in contaminated freezers. Four bakeries located at Suraj Kund road Chowk Shehbaz, Bahawalpur Bypass Chowk and Maitla town Pir colony were collectively fined Rs135,000 over poor sanitation, storing food on dirty floors, keeping expired products, using prohibited and loose ingredients, and failing to maintain cooking oil replacement records.

A popular pizza outlet in Gulgasht colony was fined Rs25,000 for inadequate cleanliness and poor sanitation of machinery and utensils.

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In Vehari district, three bakeries located in Arif Bazaar, Mohalla Housing Scheme Burewala and Gulshan Rehman colony were fined a total of Rs57,000 for insect infestation, the use of artificial colours in food preparation and poor hygiene practices. A snack unit in Tibba Sultan Pur was fined Rs20,000 for using repeatedly heated cooking oil, while the local water plant was closed until improvement.

Further action was taken at the motorway rest area near Makhdumpur Interchange, where a hotel was fined Rs25,000 for serving stale vegetables and maintaining unhygienic conditions with insect infestation.

In Khanewal district, a restaurant at old bus stand, Kabirwala, was fined Rs25,000 for using stale vegetables and loose spices in food preparation. Two pizza outlets on Tulamba road and at New Vegetable market, Mian Channu, were fined Rs30,000 for storing food in foul-smelling freezers, using repeatedly heated oil and failing to maintain oil replacement records. Meanwhile, a sweets and bakery outlet near Jamia Inayatia was fined Rs35,000 for using non-food-grade salt, loose food colours and maintaining unhygienic storage conditions infested with insects.

PFA Director General Syed Musa Raza reiterated that food adulteration posed a serious threat to public health and warned that strict legal action would continue against anyone found compromising food safety standards.