Unhygienic food chain: Wary of rotten frozen foods, Kupwara residents seek strict meat quality checks

Kupwara, Aug 9: In the wake of a recent rotten meat seizure in parts of Kashmir, a wave of anger and concern has swept through north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, with residents calling on the Food Safety Department to tighten its grip on meat selling outlets and most importantly enforce routine inspections so that quality is not compromised what so ever.

According to locals, surprise raids and mandatory quality certifications are essential to prevent unsafe meat from reaching consumers. They have strongly voiced the need for systematic and surprise inspections across butcher shops, slaughterhouses, cold storages, and roadside eateries, particularly those selling popular street food items like barbeque. They have also demanded visible display of health clearance certificates at all meat-selling outlets.

"There should be no compromise to safeguard the public health. The concerned department must ensure that every outlet dealing in meat must be inspected regularly to make them accountable," a local told Greater Kashmir.

Locals said that inspections should not be reactionary or complaint-driven, but must be mechanism driven which includes periodic quality checks, hygienic handling practices, and proper refrigeration standards. "We have a very dull and kind of an invisible enforcement mechanism here in Kashmir which becomes active only after any incident is reported. There should not be occasional fire-fighting but the concerned department needs to be proactive to deal with this important issue considering public health a priority" they added.

Dr Basharat Khan, a rural health expert and columnist, said that the recent seizure of rotten meat in Kashmir once again reveals the weakness of our food safety system. “This is not just about dishonest traders but it reflects a deeper problem of negligence, where regular monitoring has been replaced by occasional raids carried out only after public complaints,” he said. People in Kupwara have called for setting up of a dedicated food safety helpline and mobile inspection teams that can swiftly act on complaints and verify the quality of meat in real-time. In response to the growing concern, officials from Food Safety Department have swung into action and carried out raids on different outlets where in they have seized substantial quantity of rotten meat across the district.

Food Safety Officer Handwara, Abdul Hamid Sofi told Greater Kashmir that over 50 kg rotten meat was seized from different outlets following their inspection. He said that a fine of Rs 8000 was imposed on those outlet owners who had failed to maintain cleanliness.

"We are supposed to act tough against those who do not comply with the set norms laid down by Food Safety Department. I appeal general public to come forward and intimate us wherever they find public health is being compromised," he added.