A call for action
Foods of animal origin can pose significant threats to human health if not handled, processed, or stored properly. While government agencies are expected to guarantee a safe food supply, a sudden valley-wide crackdown on restaurants, hotels, and food courts two weeks ago revealed an alarming reality. Media reports of rotten and stale food stored by unscrupulous operators for unknown periods shocked the public. Although the government’s swift action was widely appreciated, it also raised uncomfortable questions about the functioning of relevant agencies and the possible health impacts of already consumed items - especially on the largely non-vegetarian population. The public is now keenly awaiting concrete initiatives to address the distress and restore confidence in the food chain.
At this critical juncture, urgent and practical measures are needed to safeguard public health. A priority should be boosting local animal food production, ensuring proper processing and preservation, and minimizing the time gap from production to consumption. Despite being a temperate region well-suited for livestock rearing and despite notable growth in the local mutton and poultry sector in recent years - Kashmir remains heavily dependent on imports to meet its demand for animal products. Of the 500 to 600 lakh kilograms of mutton consumed annually, 150 to 300 lakh kilograms are imported. In the poultry sector, about 30% of chicken sold in J&K markets is imported dressed chicken, served in nearly 90% of restaurants. The annual import bill for meat, poultry, and eggs is estimated at approximately `2,000 crore.
The bigger challenge lies in inadequate infrastructure. Incidents such as fresh milk being dumped in Ganderbal or farmers’ struggles to sell local sheep around Eid ul Zuha highlight deep-rooted inefficiencies. The absence of modern slaughterhouses, insufficient processing and storage facilities, lack of specialized refrigerated transport, and weak marketing networks not only compromise food safety but also undermine farmer livelihoods. Establishing abattoirs with integrated processing, packaging, and preservation facilities is therefore an urgent need.
This infrastructure gap is compounded by insufficient supervision from qualified veterinarians during critical stages from slaughter to consumption. In our system, the veterinarians have only a limited role in this phase, despite their expertise in linking animal health, human health, and environmental safety under the “One Health” concept. They are trained to operate across the entire “farm-to-fork” or “stable-to-table” chain; monitoring animal health, overseeing slaughterhouse inspections, ensuring hygienic processing, controlling zoonotic diseases, and verifying compliance with food safety standards.
From ante- and post-mortem inspections to disease surveillance, veterinarians identify and remove unsafe animals and products from the food chain. They ensure drug, pesticide, and toxin residues remain within permissible limits, guide farmers on responsible antibiotic use, and block zoonotic diseases from entering the food supply. In cases of food contamination, they lead “trace-back” investigation teams to find the source and prevent recurrence. For international trade, veterinary health certification is often the decisive factor for export approval. Globally, the rising demand for livestock products has intensified production systems, making rigorous veterinary oversight more crucial than ever.
The recent crackdown has exposed alarming lapses but also opened the door to systemic reform. By fully integrating veterinarians as leaders in food safety, investing in modern abattoirs, strengthening cold chain and transport facilities, and building robust farm-to-market linkages, Kashmir can ensure that every piece of meat, drop of milk, or egg reaching the consumer is not only fresh but genuinely safe. The health of the people and the trust of the consumer depend on it.
Prof. Mujeeb Fazili, former Associate Director Research (A.S) & Former Head, Division of Veterinary Clinical Complex, SKUAST-Kashmir.
