A Dressed Scam?

 It was a huge catch in Srinagar’s Zakura area on July 31^st 2025. The Food Safety wing of Drug and Food Control Organisation (DFCO) conducted a raid on a storage facility & seized around 1200 Kgs of rotten meat and thus prevented its distribution to local restaurants. After this the rotten meat was seen disposed off at multiple locations across Kashmir valley. I myself saw around 1000 kgs of meat dumped in a marshy land near Nowgam bypass last week. After that incident packed meat has been dumped at different locations across Kashmir. It seems people associated with this trade are getting panic shocks and they are dumping their products fearing Govt action against them.

Till date the Food Safety wing of DFCO Kashmir had never seized such a huge quantity of spoiled and unsafe meat, or chicken, in J&K; nor have we heard of rotten meat being dumped around secluded places in Srinagar or other towns? 2000 Kgs animal feet were recovered by Food Safety officers in Kupwara. It is not clear whether they were also rotten or not? Quintals of spoiled kababs, ristas and gushtabas have also been recovered.

Unchecked inflow

In spite of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations, the unchecked flow of fish, dressed frozen meat, and dressed chicken into north Kashmir has raised serious health concerns. When I posted the rotten meat photos on my social media handle X (formerly twitter) on July 31^st, a consumer from Bangalore wrote:

“The reason why I have stopped eating non-veg at restaurants for 5 years. There’s no food safety regulation in India. Even if any restaurant gets caught, they pay bribes and move on. Most of the restaurants in big cities fail the food safety standards. Yet they operate openly”

Another consumer from Maharashtra namely Ganpat Rao Apte, who had visited Srinagar recently wrote:

“I recently ate a fried fish from a well known shop in Khayam and the next day daang! Food poisoning & spending 4 times more than the money spent on fish in Khyber Hospital (in the market near Khyber hospital) from treatment. Surely I think it is a nexus. Kashmir can never be trusted for this”

A local consumer namely Waseem Bazaz while posting pic of a thali with biryani, kabab, chicken leg piece and rista wrote:

 “Now it makes sense how they manage to sell biryani with a kebab, a piece of chicken, and a rista all for just ₹100. There’s no way you get all that for so cheap unless this is the kind of meat they’re using. Disgusting and dangerous”

The absence of quality control mechanisms, technological intervention at entry points like Lakhanpur, Lower Munda Qazigund is allowing unsafe meat to reach Kashmir valley which is then supplied to food vendors, and restaurants, putting the lives of consumers at risk. Over the past 4 to 5 years, frozen fish, frozen meat and dressed chicken are being increasingly used and local markets are flooded with these food items due to very low rates as compared to fresh chicken, fish or mutton. There has been a massive rise in street food businesses, especially barbeque centres, biryani outlets, fast food corners etc. Even in remote villages we see new restaurants, fast food centers have been set up. Local consumers who are rice eaters love to eat biryani but who knows what kind of chicken has been used? Was it halal cut or not? Who knows what meat is used in making kebabs, rista and goshtabas ?

According to the FSSAI regulations, all the frozen food items like fish, chicken and meat are supposed to be procured from licensed dealers and have to go for frequent testing to check any adulteration or contamination. There is no proper mechanism within the authorities to test frozen meat, fish or chicken quality in every town, city or village ?

When I posted the video related to seizure of rotten meat at Zakura Srinagar, a consumer namely Tariq Parvez wrote in comment section of my Facebook page:

“This packed meat comes from outside the state in huge quantities. Irrespective of quality and hygiene, it is supplied on a daily basis to a large number of barbeque vendors and various restaurants. This meat is being relished by us for last many years with lawasa & chetnis of different tastes.”

I fully agree with Tariq, the meat which was seized was cut into small pieces and was most probably to be used to make barbeques (Tujj) or Kebabs?

Probe by an Expert Committee 

We need a proper mechanism to test the quality of frozen chicken, meat or fish before it finds its way into Kashmir. Unlike other food products, frozen dressed meat is not taxed which allows it to be transported hassle-free without any check. The Food Safety wing of Drug & Food Control Organisation- DFCO has to be proactive and its officers should be always seen in the field. The Health Minister and Secretary Health must make sure all the vacancies in DFCO are filled up so that this institution is more vibrant & accessible. The offenders who have dumped the rotten meat should be identified & booked under Public Safety Act-PSA. An in-depth inquiry should be held into this scam by constituting an expert committee from various fields who will submit the report to the Govt within a stipulated time.

Conclusion 

It is very much clear now that Kashmir valley has been supplied with unhygienic meat for years as there were no checks and balances in this entire trade? Even Non Halal items are said to be supplied to Kashmir presented as being Halal. A time bound probe should be held and criminals who are involved in this trade exposed.

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow and Chairman J&K RTI Movement