Are the Punjab Food Authority’s recent raids on restaurants and bakeries across the provincial capital part of a major cleanup process or something more sinister? In a country with extremely limited options for entertainment, eating out is one of the most preferred pastimes. And, it’s not just limited to any particular socio-economic class. People with all sorts of income, and from all sorts of backgrounds, regularly step out for a bite. Perhaps, this is one reason why it is generally thought good advice to invest in the food industry.

But restaurants are a bit uneasy these days. There’s a new bogey man in town: the Punjab Food Authority (PFA).

Technically, the PFA was established in 2011 ‘to provide for the safety and standards of food,’ yet it has only sprung into any noticeable action four years later. Now, not a day goes by when the Authority’s operations team doesn’t raid one or more establishments across the city, enforcing fines, sealing premises and taking samples.

All this sounds fine and dandy. But is hygiene really on the agenda of the PFA?

"Absolutely not," says Asma Ramday, owner of the upscale Polo Lounge eatery which also came under the Authority’s radar earlier this year.

"Our establishment has been operating for 14 years, and this was the first time they came to us, and that too because somebody close to the CM Punjab wanted it shut down," Ramday tells TNS.

She says she went to court, and eventually the fine imposed by the PFA was reversed. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the pictures presented as evidence in the case were eventually also found to be fraudulent.

At the same time, a blogger has alleged that all the raids currently being conducted by the PFA are financially motivated. As proof, the blog has an unverified picture of an email between a senior PFA official and a Hardees employee agreeing on an amount.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the said official, they remained unavailable for comment.

But ask any entrepreneur, and most sing the same song: the inspectors do come around. But most of them are more concerned about being paid off rather than inspecting the premises. Some don’t want money, but food. In either case, everyone is taken care of. That’s how the system has been working.

When the PFA was formed in 2011, a food license was made mandatory to run a restaurant. But the same was never publicised. And, the same happened with the Authority’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Food Business Operators.

"These SOPs were clandestinely smuggled in from abroad," says Kamran Sheikh, one of Lahore’s foremost restaurant entrepreneurs and soon to be chairman of the upcoming Lahore Restaurants Association. "They are disconnected from the realities of Pakistan and, most importantly, they were never floated to the restaurant owners. So how can anybody be held accountable on laws they don’t know about?

"Hygiene is essential, but these inspectors have absolutely no idea on what restaurant hygiene is, and how it ought to be maintained."

At the same time, pictures have surfaced of the lack of hygiene being practiced by the Authority’s raid teams during their inspection sorties across the city. Ungloved hands in freezers, filthy sample containers and the like further dent any possible credibility of what the PFA is up to.

In the absence of any stringent guidelines from the Authority, and the lack of periodic inspections, hygiene becomes an internal matter, left to the owner. And, if he or she is not directly involved in the kitchen’s going-ons, then to the chefs. And, since most of the chefs come from lower income backgrounds, hygiene takes on a very rudimentary level.

Both Ramday and Sheikh agree that most of Lahore’s quintessential Punjabi eateries -- the roadside joints, the tikka and nihari walas and the like -- are contamination hotbeds. Tasty and deadly both.

"Knowing what I know about this industry, there are perhaps just one or two places in the entire city where I’d allow my kids to eat," Ramday confesses.

"Hygiene is a cultural misbelief," adds Sheikh, and this needs to be tackled head-on by the PFA. For example, there are numerous eateries operating within ten feet of open sewerage lines. Nowhere in the world would something like this be allowed. At the same time, the water being provided by the state is undrinkable. Should the PFA then take the Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) to task, as these two matters fall under its jurisdiction?

The PFA has recently launched a toll free number for direct registration of complaints from the public. Historically, such tools have not only been exploited by competing establishments but also open up a Pandora’s box of perceived issues along with the possibility of a witch hunt. Take, for instance, a comment on the PFA’s Facebook page: "Please visit ABC and check the food quality, you may seal that as well, OR please visit ABC Tikka Faisal Town; last night I got a delivery from there, chicken tikka stinks even after BBQ."

"Restaurant hygiene is not an art, it’s a simple science, a matter of yes or no," says Sheikh. The famous restaurateur recommends the creation of a comprehensive checklist, made in collusion with restaurant owners that would then be applicable to all registered eateries in the city. At the same time, the Authority will ensure, through a regular inspection programme, that all the guidelines are being followed to a T.

At the entrepreneurs’ end, the creation of the Lahore Restaurants Association (LRA) will cover one base, with the terms and conditions for membership set to include strict levels of hygiene, sanitation and water quality.

Two major loopholes remain. Currently, the PFA is focusing on lower, middle and upper middle class restaurants and bakeries. At the same time, the LRA plans to offer its membership to all those establishments that are sales tax registered. This means a large number of eateries, due either to their size or location, will continue to evade both these two organisations.

Secondly, does the PFA know of every single restaurant and bakery in the city?

Food, due to its perishability, is a provincial matter. And, while there is lots to criticise about the PFA, it is a misguided step in the right direction. What do the other provinces have to say for themselves?