Food dept finalises strategy to counter Ramazan price hikes
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Food Department has finalized a comprehensive strategy for the holy month of Ramazan to ensure the availability of essential food items, control prices, and curb the sale of substandard food products.
The initiative has been taken on the directive of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru. To effectively counter artificial inflation, hoarding and the sale of low-quality food, the department has constituted special teams across the province.
Speaking on the Ramazan strategy, Provincial Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru stated that the Food Safety & Halal Food Authority would conduct extensive inspections throughout Ramazan to guarantee the availability of safe and high-quality food for the general public.
He further highlighted that food authority teams would set up checkpoints at the entry points of major cities, including Peshawar, to prevent the supply of substandard food items.
Additionally, he said, pre-Ramazan inspections would focus on raw materials of dairy-based products such as milkshakes, snacks, ice cream and other food items to ensure compliance with health and safety standards.
He further said that, under the Ramazan and pre-Ramazan strategy, divisional deputy directors of the food department and district food controllers would oversee raids against hoarders while strict monitoring of food availability and pricing in markets would continue throughout the holy month.
Warning food businesses involved in hoarding and food adulteration, Toru reaffirmed that strict legal action would be taken against those responsible for artificial price hikes and the sale of substandard food.
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