PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority has launched a province-wide crackdown to curb production and sale of substandard and unsafe food items. Spanning multiple districts including Charsadda, Nowshera, Haripur, Malakand, Hangu, and Mohmand, food safety teams have carried out extensive raids and market inspections, confiscating and destroying thousands of kilograms of hazardous goods while initiating strict legal proceedings against violators. APP
In a major bust in Charsadda, officials raided a residential premises where they seized over 6,000 kilograms of substandard ketchup and artificial vinegar, alongside 200 kilograms of packaging supplies and 100 kilograms of raw ingredients.
More than 200 kilograms of unsafe finished products were disposed of on site, and facility was fined for improper labeling and severe hygiene infractions.
Similarly, a raid on a spice manufacturing plant in Nowshera led to recovery of 1,660 kilograms of adulterated spices, expired flavoring agents, and substandard garlic and mango powders, resulting in immediate fines for facility.
Inspectors in Hangu seized and destroyed 100 packets of mislabeled pops from a wholesaler, imposing a fine on the owner.
In Haripur, late night checks of local fish outlets resulted in destruction of 25 kilograms of stale fish and penalties for outlets lacking mandatory medical health certificates or proper sanitation.
Furthermore, a manufacturing plant in Hattar Industrial Estate was penalized after laboratory testing confirmed its products failed to meet regulatory standards.
In Malakand, Food Authority partnered with Levies Force for an intelligence led blockade, intercepting a suspicious vehicle carrying between 150 and 200 kilograms of unsafe meat, which was destroyed while legal proceedings were launched against transporters.
Meanwhile, in Mohmand district, a Peshawar based safety team joined forces with Food Department to inspect several local flour mills, collecting government supplied flour samples from multiple facilities to undergo rigorous testing at authority’s static laboratory.
