Special enforcement drives held across J&K against rotten meat vendors: Health Minister

Jammu : Minister for Health and Medical Education Sakeena Itoo Friday stated that the Health department has conducted special enforcement drives across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir in response to incidents of sale and seizure of rotten and unsafe meat and meat products reported in Kashmir valley.
The Minister said this in response to clubbed question of Legislators Mir Saifullah, Mubarik Gul, Pirzada Farooq Ahmad Shah and Hasnain Masoodi regarding ‘Food Adulteration and Sale of Rotten Meat’ in House.
The Minister informed the House that during 2025-26 (Dec 2025), 1676 inspections were conducted with seizure of about 2139 Kg meat besides 12,183.5 Kg of rotten meat was destroyed in various districts of J&K. She said that action has been taken against various individuals, traders and establishments found responsible in cases related to Meat and Meat Products under various provisions of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006.
The Minister further said that the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006 provides for a self-contained statutory enforcement mechanism through inspection, sampling, adjudication and prosecution. It does not provide for registration of FIRs or arrests under the BNS Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for any contravention of provisions of the FSS Act, she added.
The Health Minister added that the samples have been sent for analysis within J&K (Food Laboratory, Kashmir) and outside UT of J&K (National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad / FRAC FICCI, New Delhi and ICAR–National Meat Research Institute, Hyderabad). She said that out of 144 meat and meat product samples lifted, 17 were reported unsafe and 01 sub-standard.
The Minister also said that the Department has two NABL-accredited state-of-the-art Food Testing Laboratories, one each at Jammu and Srinagar. “Other than this, the Department also has 12 Mobile Food Testing Laboratories. The Department also utilizes services of FSSAI-recognized NABL-accredited laboratories, viz., FRAC-FICCI, New Delhi and National Food Laboratory (NFL), Ghaziabad and other FSSAI-approved laboratories across India as and when required”, she said.
The Minister acknowledged that there is shortage of technical manpower in both the laboratories and vacant posts will be referred to recruiting agencies once the Recruitment Rules are finalized with the concurrence of the Finance Department. She added that outsourced staff are being engaged to compensate the shortage of the staff.
She also said that the grievance redressal mechanism is operational in the Department with Common Toll-Free Number: 104, UT Portal: https://dfcojk.org/complaint.php and FSSAI Portal: https://fssai.gov.in/cms/food-safety-connect.php.
She said that the Department has 12 Mobile Food Testing Laboratories which are fully functional.
To prevent food adulteration and safeguard public health, the Minister said that various measures are being undertaken by the Food Safety Department under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. These included regular inspection of food business establishments including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, hotels and street food vendors.
She added that sampling and testing of food articles, strict enforcement action, including suspension/cancellation of licenses, penalties and prosecution against violators, special drives and surveillance during festivals and measures are continuously strengthened to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food to the public and minimize the incidence of food-borne diseases.
Legislators, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Tanvir Sadiq and Balwant Singh Mankotia raised supplementary questions.