Keeping in view the success story of Lahore Food Authority, the Punjab Government has decided to establish Divisional Food Authorities in four larger Administrative Divisions of the Province including Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala. Besides this, all the District Food Committees are being upgraded to District Food Task Forces by the inclusion of Food Technologists in these Committees.
This was disclosed in the meeting of Special Cabinet Committee constituted by the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shebaz Sharif to probe the incidence of massive adulteration in Ghee found after a successful raid by the local administration of Multan a day before yesterday. Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Punjab Shamail Ahmad Khawaja presided over the meeting. All the Divisional Commissioners and DCOs were available on video link during the proceedings of the Special Committee. The ACS termed the adulterators as “Merchants of Death” and owed to curb these Anti-social elements any way. He informed the meeting that the Chief Minister Muhammad Shebaz Sharif has taken strict notice of large scale extraction of Ghee from animal remains and has constituted this special Committee to chalk out effective measures to control the menace of food adulteration and manufacturing of spurious and substandard drugs which tantamount to kill the poor people at large. The Committee decided to send a summary to the Chief Minister regarding amendments in the Anti- adulteration and Pure Food Act 1960 to make room for establishment of Special Trial Courts for adulterators.ACS Shamail Ahmad Khawaja took all the Commissioners and DCOs into confidence about the decision of the provincial Government regarding establishment of Divisional Food Authorities at Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala and said that all the District Food Committees will be upgraded to District Food Task Forces by inclusion of technical members within a month. Secretary Prosecution Punjab Syed Ali Murtaza, Acting Secretary Food Punjab Asif Bilal Lodhi, Additional Secretary Food Syeda Malika, Additional Secretary Specialized Health Care & Medical Education Dr. Adnan, AS(T) Health Department and DG Health Services Punjab participated in the meeting of Special Committee.