With a court convicting the Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited for selling misbranded, sub-standard and unsafe milk products in Kashmir, the authorities concerned have lifted over 30 samples of packaged dairy products of six different brands from across the region for testing.
The samples were collected by the officials of the Drugs and Food Control Organisation from different markets during last two days and sent to local government lab for analysis, said a senior Drugs and Food Control Organisation official.
Sources said the officials also lifted three samples of Khyber’s poly-pack milk products from the market for analysis.
“They (Khyber) have also been given an option to send their samples for testing to the accredited labs,” a source said.
Following the directions from the Budgam court, the Controller, Drugs and Food Control Organisation, had on April 6 ordered closure of the milk processing unit of the Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited.
Subsequently, on April 7, the checking squads seized and destroyed stocks of the Khyber milk from different markets in and around Srinagar, the official said.
The official said apart from Khyber, samples of milk products from other brands, including Zum Zum, Haleeb, Snow Cap, Niyamat and Koh-i-Sheen, were also lifted from markets across Kashmir and subsequently sent for testing.
As per court directions, the lifted food samples are first sent to a local government lab for analysis and once the reports are received, the authorities are required to send the lifted samples, which are preserved, to referral laboratory in Kolkata or Ghaziabad.
Besides, the owner of the brand, whose samples are lifted for analysis, is also given an option to forward the samples to accredited labs across India for testing. However, the costs are to be borne by the manufacturer/brand owner/ the company.
The Khyber Agro Farms Private, meanwhile, ran “paid news items” in most of the local English dailies today, wherein apart from invoking “Islam”, the company also caused aspersions on the recent court verdict.
“In taking penal action against Khyber, it has been singled out for oblique motives,” read the paid news items titled as “press release on behalf of Khyber”.
“Khyber has never indulged, intentionally or unilaterally, in any kind of practice which is un-Islamic and contrary to law,” read the release.
“Khyber may have suffered a setback, but will fight out all such elements, string pullers, known or unknown, who are out to malign long established credibility of products manufactured and processed by Khyber,” it said while blaming media for running a campaign against it.
Post-Khyber conviction, 30 samples of other milk brands lifted for testing
