Punjab Food Authority discards 5,850kg of ‘unhygienic’ chicken meat

LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority (PFA) carried out an operation against dead and unhygienic chicken meat in Tollinton Market on Monday.

The authority discarded 5,850kg meat of sick chicken and penalized five Food Business Operators (FBOs) with hefty fines. The operation was led by PFA Director General Muhammad Asim Javaid and LDA DG Tahir Farooq. The meat safety task force comprised veterinary specialists and assistant food safety officers. They conducted raids on 21 poultry shops and their godowns to inspect the chicken meat quality and ensure the implementation of PFA Act. The authority also inspected several vehicles loaded with hundreds of chickens.

PFA DG Muhammad Asim Javaid said 146.25 maunds of unhygienic meat was discarded after slaughtering the sick chicken. He said the PFA’s enforcement team inspected hundreds of fowls weighing 55,000kg during the operation.

He said that hundreds of kilograms of chicken were badly affected by various diseases including eye, lungs and paralysis. He added that the consumption of unhygienic chicken meat causes health problems for consumers.

Meanwhile, the PFA’s meat safety task force imposed hefty fines on meat suppliers over non-compliance with the previous instructions of the competent authority, the PFA DG said. He said the crackdown of meat safety teams continued against unhygienic meat of sick or dead chicken in Tollinton Market and other parts of the city on daily basis. The PFA teams have been checking milk and meat in all districts of Punjab including Lahore by setting up pickets, he added.

The Director General said that the sale of underweight, sick or dead chickens will not be tolerated at any cost. He said the utmost priority of PFA is to eliminate the enemies of public health from Punjab.

Muhammad Asim Javaid said the PFA is working on developing a meat production and supply system that meets international standards. He said that all available resources are being utilized to root out the illegal businesses of the adulteration mafia. He advised the people to buy fresh meat and get the chicken slaughtered in front of their eyes rather than chicken slaughtered earlier. He said that citizens should report all fraudulent activities around them to the Punjab Food Authority helpline.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025