LAHORE: The Supreme Court while hearing a petition against the sale of substandard milk and drinking water in the province on Thursday observed that the court wanted to ensure that every child of the country consume safe milk.
The bench remarked that action would be taken against the sale of adulterated milk not only in Punjab but also in the whole country. The bench directed the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) to tighten the noose around manufacturers and sellers of substandard milk.
Earlier, the bench had directed the PFA to get milk and water samples available in the market examined and submit a report.
On Thursday, PFA Director General Noorul Ameen Mengal submitted a report on the quality of milk manufactured by different companies. According to the report, pasteurised milk supplied by a leading food outlet was found safe for human consumption but traces of E-Coli were found in it. The PFA director general informed the court that E-Coli was a bacterium commonly found in intestines of humans and other animals, some strains of which can cause severe food poisoning.
However, the petitioner expressed concerns over the report, saying that the samples had been taken in winter, in which shelf life of milk is comparatively long as compare to summer. It was heard that the court would also have the samples examined in summer.
Mengal told the court that the authority had taken strict measures to ensure provision of quality milk and food to citizens and that the PFA had been taking actions against sellers of unhygienic food and milk. He said that milk samples of 21 companies had been taken and sent to PCSIR for examination out of which the samples of four companies were found fit for human consumption.
He said that Punjab Food Standards and Quality Regulations, 2017 had been drafted and would be notified shortly in order to align the existing rules with international standards and these rules would require pre-qualification of imported raw material to be registered with the PFA so that usage of substandard imported products could be eradicated.
The bench directed the PFA to submit within a month the report on sample analysis of the remaining companies.
The Watan Party, through its central executive member, Dr Muhammad Yaqoob Bhatti had moved the petition. Counsel for petitioner Barrister Zafarullah had submitted that 80 percent milk supplied in the provincial capital was poisonous. He contended that out of 19,718 samples collected by food department in the last five years, almost 17,529 samples were found adulterated.
He alleged that the PFA and other authorities concerned had failed to take action against those providing substandard and contaminated milk in markets.
