Global Rice News

After the blockade of inter-provincial smuggling and misreporting of flour production quantities, rice mills in Punjab have resorted to mixing maize and broken rice with wheat to earn illegal profits. This deceptive practice has led to an increase in public complaints about adulterated flour, resulting in substandard quality and taste of bread. However, both the Punjab Food Authority and the provincial food department seem to be unable to ensure the quality of the flour produced.

According to the flour mills association, the cost of producing adulterated flour is approximately Rs250 per bag less than the standard produce. The lack of inspection by the authorities has also allowed the mixing of subsidized wheat with the one used to produce flour for sale at the market rate.

Previously, smuggling and illegal grinding of wheat were curbed through measures taken by the caretaker government to bridge the price gap between official outlets and the open market. However, the flour mills have now found a new way to illegally earn income by mixing white corn and broken rice while grinding wheat.

Complaints about flour adulteration have been ongoing for the past two months, but the concerned government departments have failed to effectively address the issue. Mixing any item with wheat while producing flour is an official crime and results in poor quality flour. The current official price of wheat per kg is Rs118, while maize costs Rs50 and broken rice costs Rs80.

The flour mills association exerted pressure a few years ago to prevent the Punjab Food Authority from inspecting the mills and the flour produced by them. In June, the provincial food secretary suggested that the Food Authority Act granted primary responsibility to ensure food safety and quality. The secretary proposed that the authority should collect flour samples from dealers in the market for testing. However, the flour mills association filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court claiming that the food department was imposing unconstitutional restrictions on inter-provincial transportation of wheat flour, and the food authority’s directives were illegal. The high court has declared that the issue of flour checking by the authority will be heard along with other related petitions.

Asim Raza, Chairman of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), expressed concern over the sharp increase in complaints of adulteration and emphasized that the association would never support any flour mill involved in adulteration. Asif Dogar, PFA Additional DG, stated that the authority’s legal team is working on pursuing the court case and emphasized their responsibility to prevent all types of food adulteration.

Sources in the flour milling industry have revealed that some mills are selling flour at Rs2,350 per bag for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, while pure flour should not cost less than Rs2,550.

Overall, it is crucial for the government and relevant authorities to tackle the issue of flour adulteration to ensure the supply of quality flour to the people.

**Source:** [The Express Tribune](https://tribune.com.pk)