Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has been actively monitoring daily use food items following the Supreme Court’s order against certain milk brands. In March, the authority sampled 142 oil, ghee and banaspati products from 120 companies. The results from Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), which tested the samples under different criteria, have now been made public.

From a total of 142 products, 92 passed, 26 failed and were listed as “dangerous to health” while 24 did not meet the recommended nutritional standards.

PFA has requested the public to avoid the available stock of products which failed the tests. The authorities have been tasked to remove the failed products from the market. Companies, whose products failed the tests, have been fined one million rupees each.

Those companies which did not meet the recommended nutritional standards have been asked to improve their product quality within one month. After the time limit ends, their products will be sampled and tested again.

Harmful Products

According to the report from PCSIR, the following cooking oil, banaspati and ghee products were deemed harmful to health and will be removed from shelves immediately:

Zaiqa Banaspati

Evian Flower Oil

Mujahid Banaspati

Kisan Sunflower Oil

Kausar Banaspati

Gaye Banaspati

Savera Banaspati

Seasons Banaspati

Commander Banaspati

Sultan Banaspati

Salvi Banaspati

Shahtaj Banaspati

Sehr Banaspati

Sehr Cooking Oil

Amber Banaspati

Pure Oil Premier Banaspati

Yadgar Banaspati

Darja-e-Awal Banaspati

Darja-e-Awal Cooking Oil

Asia Banaspati

Shahbaz Banaspati

Care Banaspati

Latif Banaspati

Hafeez Banaspati

Taza Banaspati

Dua Banaspati

Unhealthy Products

PCSIR also confirmed that several tested samples did not meet the international standards for nutritional values. These products will be tested again within one month to see if the quality has been improved. If not, companies will be asked to halt production with immediate effect.

The names of the products are listed below:

Shan Cooking Oil

Islamabad Cooking Oil

Marwa Cooking Oil

Evian Cooking Oil

Asia Pure Cooking Oil

Islamabad Banaspati

Handi Cooking Oil

Shahtaj Premier Cooking Oil

Ashiana Banaspati

Mumtaz Banaspati

Data Banaspati

Prime Banaspati

Handi Banaspati

Ghausia Banaspati

Meher Banaspati

Soya Supreme Banaspati

Inam Banspati

Rani Gold Banaspati

Taza Gold Banaspati

Rehmat Banaspati

Suad Banaspati

Malta Banaspati

Khyber Banaspati

Askari Banaspati

Sampling & Testing Process

PFA has announced that it will test the quality of cooking oils and ghees at least two times every year. These tests will be pre-announced while one surprise test will also be conducted. During the tests, samples will be acquired in the presence of a company representative.

Samples are tested by PCSIR, which is an ISO-certified international standard laboratory. All companies are offered ample time to resolve issues in quality before and after the tests are carried out. The authority will take action against any party which violates PFA’s regulations.