A raid conducted by Punjab Food Authority (PFA) on Monday revealed that a number of seafood restaurants in Rawalpindi were using rancid oil for preparing fried fish. A number of small restaurants selling fried/grilled fish in Rawalpindi’s Committee Chowk were sealed for using cancer-causing rancid oil and storage area of one was sealed for violating food safety regulations. Numerous small restaurants at Committee Chowk were checked for their adherence to food safety regulations and the measures taken by them after PFA warnings. During the raid, except for one, almost all of the food points were using rancid oil while many of them were storing fish in open or in dirty store rooms. Later, a raid was conducted at a spice factory which produced spices for fried/grilled fish and other dishes. The raid, conducted by PFA Director General Captain (r) Usman found out that the factory located in a residential area was producing spices like machli masala and biryani masala in unhygienic conditions. Rats, cockroaches and dirt were found in raw spices used for preparing packaged food. Moreover, the spices were being adulterated with non-edible items like red colour and animal feed. The PFA director general lamented that the spice factory was sealed in the past as well for its unhygienic practices but the owners learnt nothing from the episode. “It is not only our responsibility to keep a check on these places, I urge people to report to us if they see any such activity in their surroundings,” PFA DG Usman said. Published in Daily Times, November 20th 2018.