SFA seals and fines a dozen eateries in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: In a rare action in Hyderabad, Sindh Food Authority (SFA) sealed and fined nearly a dozen restaurants and eateries on Sunday night in the two food streets of the district. The SFA Deputy Director Imtaiz Ali Abro told The Express Tribune that six outlets were fined and four were sealed because they did not comply with the authority’s standards of the authority.

“We sealed the restaurants because they were selling expired food items,” he informed. The sealed outlets include Rakabi restaurant, Chai Shistam, Indus Fish point and Breeze Fish Point, all of which are located on Autobahn road. The authority also noticed a lack of pest management in the hotels.

Abro, however, said the sealed outlets can be reopened within 24 hours, “Provided they submit to us in writing that they will meet the SFA’s standards and, subsequently, our team verified that the standards had been met”.

According to him, the authority imposed fines of around Rs450,000 on eateries. The leading restaurants of Hyderabad like Royal Taj and Lal Qila, besides Khan Barbecue, New Salateen Hotel and two others were fined. SFA Director General Amjad Ali Laghari headed the raiding teams during the inspection.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2019.