Govt orders crackdown after ghee, oil samples found substandard

Mettis Global reported that the government has ordered regulators to begin immediate enforcement after a nationwide testing drive found many Banaspati ghee, edible oil and milk products below prescribed quality levels. The study, carried out by the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, flagged excess trans-fat, missing Vitamin A and high peroxide readings across a large number of samples. A separate gap between notified LPG rates and market prices also prompted calls for urgent intervention.

Of the ghee samples, 26 exceeded the trans-fat limit, with one reaching 15.87 grams per 100 grams against a permitted 2 grams per 100 grams. Vitamin A was absent from 46 ghee samples, and the same deficiency appeared in 26 blended cooking oil samples. All 26 failing packaged liquid milk samples were short on milk fat, while the eight failing milk powder samples were all below standard on protein.

Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal chaired the National Price Monitoring Committee meeting that reviewed the results and asked for a coordinated quality-control mechanism with all four provincial food authorities. He ordered quarterly monitoring that includes rural markets and told petroleum officials and OGRA to resolve the LPG pricing gap within three days. He stressed that enforcement should target manufacturers rather than retailers alone.