LAHORE - With a view to check rampant food adulterations and regulate food trade, the Punjab Food Authority (PFA), suspected to have been dumped, is going to get a new lease of life as a fresh summary to establish the same is all set to be submitted to the CM secretariat within a couple of days. The new summary has ignited the hopes for the materialisation of long awaited Punjab Food Authority pending over the last one and half year. As no progress was in sight in this regard, people believed the government had dropped the plan of setting up PFA. As per sources, a number of summaries have already been forwarded to the authority concerned stressing on the opinion that PFA is the only solution to curb food adulteration in the province, but all in vain. Senior official in the food department seeking anonymity told The Nation there were minimum chances that fresh summary could succeed in drawing attention due to previous indifference by top bureaucracy. However, he said in such situation there was no harm to be optimistic. When contacted, chairman chief minister task force (essential items) and Punjab Food Stamp Scheme Administrator SA Hameed said setting up PFA would go a long way in the provision of quality food to the people. Without developing solid infrastructure of PFA, checking food adulteration is a distant dream, he opined. With rigorous efforts of gonging through food authorities that are operational in advanced countries, he prepared the summary to constitute PFA. But it proved as exercise in futility. He said he would move fresh summary as last effort within days. He said a global standard food-testing lab costing Rs120 million was being established in Lahore. Besides, he added, mobile testing laboratories would be set up on the Punjab roads to check the quality of all foods being offered for sales in the province. Under the draft proposal, the Punjab Food Authority will comprise secretary agriculture, secretary food, secretary labour, secretary livestock, secretary health and secretary industry. PFA will also incorporate representatives of NGOs, manufactures, suppliers, wholesalers and vendors. The food authority will have an equal number of members from both the private and public sectors. It will work for policy-making to control adulteration reaching alarming level throughout the province. It will help co-ordinate and direct food policy, research, monitoring and inspections, and to communicate to the public on matters of food safety. The PFA will monitor colouring, preservatives, flavouring compounds, antioxidants, stabilisers, anti-caking agent, non-nutritive constituents, and metals in food items.