The recent series of the Srinagar-Jammu highway closures has led to a growing apprehension among the consumers in Kashmir regarding the safety and quality of perishable food items, particularly meat products.
With truckloads of edibles being stranded during transportation, concerns have arisen over the freshness and hygiene of these essential commodities. J&K consumes a high quantity of meat products, especially chicken. Much of this poultry is transported from other states, 50,000 birds per day as per reports. In addition, dressed chicken is also supplied to Kashmir, and sold mostly to Food Business Operators (FBOs) and also to retailers.
The markets of most district headquarters, including Srinagar are strewn with fish brought in from outside J&K. This fish is transported in Styrofoam iceboxes. In addition, vegetables, milk, and other processed edibles are also brought into Kashmir.
Since most of these food items are perishable and can have serious health consequences if contaminated and stale, many consumers in Kashmir feel the frequent closure of highways needs the government to intensify its vigil on the transport channels and in the market.
Many consumers spoke to said that they were apprehensive of consuming many products, given the hot weather and the number of days trucks remain stranded on the highway. “What may be happening to ice-boxes and the fish they contain, or dressed chicken or fruits and milk for that matter,” Hashmat Rashid of Badamwari Srinagar said.
Like him, many other consumers feel it is time the Department of Food Safety conducts surprise checks and quality checking of foods available in the market. The Department of Food Safety said it has taken proactive measures to conduct intensified market checks, aiming to alleviate consumer worries and ensure the integrity of food items in the region.
According to the Department, teams are deployed on the highway to stop the trucks carrying edibles to Kashmir. “We take samples and do testing of products while in transportation or while being sold in the market,” Assistant Commissioner Food Safety Anantnag, Sheikh Zameer told.
He said that over the past weeks, the department had checked hundreds of transport vehicles at Qazigund and beyond. He acknowledged the need to crack down on fish being transported without cold chains.
While detailing, he said, 300 kg of fish that was not maintained in cold-chains was destroyed in the Anantnag market earlier in the week. In addition, he said, Rista (meat balls) worth lakhs were confiscated and destroyed on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway this month. Many food business operators have also been fined for selling unsafe food items.
Meanwhile, Commissioner food safety, Dr. Abdul Kabir Dar today issued an advisory for Food Business Operators (FBOs) in view of frequent closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway due to adverse weather conditions. The FBOs have been asked to destroy deteriorated food items forthwith. “There may be apprehensions that food products especially fruits and vegetables, perishable food items that were in transit may get deteriorated. All the stakeholders especially FBOs dealing with of livestock, fruit, vegetables and perishable food items are advised to ensure that deteriorated food items, if any, are destroyed on spot,” the advisory reads.
The advisory directed the designated officers and the enforcement staff of the districts viz, Kulgam, Anantnag, Pulwama and Srinagar to keep close vigil on the movement of vehicles transporting different food articles on the national highway and adjoining areas to the valley in order to check the quality of food. “Any stakeholder found violating the Standards, Quality and Safety of Food shall be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,” the advisory said.
The general public has been asked to be watchful and contact the enforcement staff of the Commissionerate in case of a complaint regarding the quality of food available in the markets.
