Consignment found without prescribed cold-chain arrangements, preliminary tests indicate meat unfit for consumption
Yattoo Irfan
Budgam | Nov,14: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday seized and destroyed approximately 1,600 kg of buffalo meat at Budgam Railway Station after detecting violations of food safety and transportation requirements.
The enforcement action was carried out jointly with the Railway Police, railway authorities and the District Administration Budgam following specific information about the transportation of the consignment.
During inspection, the Food Safety team found that adequate refrigeration or dry-ice arrangements had not been made to maintain the prescribed transportation temperature of minus 18 degrees Celsius or below, raising concerns over the maintenance of the mandatory cold chain.
The consignment was also subjected to preliminary testing through the Food Safety on Wheels facility, which indicated that the meat was unfit for human consumption.
Subsequently, the entire consignment was seized and destroyed in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and prescribed disposal procedures.
The latest action follows an earlier enforcement drive in which food safety authorities seized approximately 2,600 kg of meat in Srinagar.
The FDA said it was maintaining strict surveillance across all districts to prevent the transportation, distribution and sale of unsafe food commodities and warned that violations would invite stringent legal action. The department has urged consumers to report instances of unsafe or adulterated food through its official email: [email protected].
