Mubashir Alam Wani
Srinagar, Aug 8: Amid an ongoing crackdown against the unsafe, unhygienic meat and dressed chicken in Kashmir, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Jammu on Friday destroyed around 800 to 1000 kilograms of expired packed meat stored at a cold storage facility.
A top officer from the food and safety department, while sharing the details said that the seizure and subsequent destruction were part of the wider J&K-level drive led by the Department of Food Safety to check the supply and sale of rotten meat and dressed chicken across Jammu and Kashmir.
“This was part of the exercise being conducted across J&K. In Jammu, nearly a thousand kilograms of expired meat and chicken were recovered and destroyed with the help of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC),” the officer said.
Earlier this week, over 3500 kilograms of rotten meat and decomposed dressed chicken were seized and destroyed in the Kashmir Valley as part of the campaign. The crackdown follows increasing public concern and religious sermons in local mosques, urging authorities to take decisive action against the menace.
The officials acknowledged the public support, stating, “We have started this exercise to ensure hygienic and safe food reaches the people. While we cannot yet determine for how long this malpractice has been going on, our focus is on uncovering and ending it.”
The officer added that while some of the meat was recovered from cold storages, in several other cases, large quantities were abandoned, presumably out of fear, by those engaged in this illegal trade.
In response to questions about the commercial supply chain of the seized meat, the top officer noted that the case was in the preliminary stage and no concrete linkages have yet been established. “Restaurant unions have distanced themselves from all this, but investigations are ongoing to determine the supply chain,” the officer added.
However, on the current supply status, the top officer maintained that no confirmation can be given regarding the ongoing inflow of such material into the Valley. “These supplies do not come through regular channels. We monitor food once it reaches the food business operators (FBOs), but a coordinated effort with other departments is needed to trace and check it at the entry points,” the officer said.
