Unlabeled meat in ice-boxes seized outside Srinagar Airport

Srinagar, Sep 7: It looked like a scene straight from a thriller movie – the Food Safety authorities received information from the alert officials at the Srinagar Airport. They set out and laid a naka at the airport gate, and caught a consignment of meat that appeared to be in contravention to the law in more ways than one. The meat was packed in ice-boxes, had no labels on it, and was being brought in the aircraft, which obviously was a break in the cold chain.

Speaking about the seizure, Yameen ul Nabi, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, said that Sales Tax Officials at Air Cargo division of Srinagar Airport shared intelligence about a meat consignment. “We received the vehicle number and seized the meat supply outside of the airport,” he said. He added that the meat was being brought in by a meat distributor from Aali Kadal area of Downtown Srinagar.

“Food Safety is everyone’s concern, and today, another department alerted us about suspected violations of food safety protocols,” Nabi said. Over the past months, the Food Safety Division of J&K Drug and Food Control Organisation has been working closely to coordinate raids and seizures of suspicious food items.

The coordinated efforts have yielded huge consignments of unsafe meat, paneer, sweets, color-laced edibles, among others.

Assistant Commissioner Food Safety told Greater Kashmir that the meat distributor on whose name the consignment was being brought in does not have a cold-storage facility. “He has freezers only, and we have registered a case, while also sending samples for testing,” he said

The operation set off when Sales Tax officials flagged an undocumented shipment of meat arriving on a commercial flight. Recognizing the potential health risks, they alerted the Food Safety Department, resulting in a successful seizure. This is the first time a meat consignment via air-cargo has been seized, the officials said.

The meat was being transported in a load carrier, which was another point of meat contamination due to a disruption in cold chain.

The meat quantity was reported to be 340 kgs. Food Safety officials said that the facility from where the trader was operating has been sealed, while his license has also been suspended. “After we receive the results of the samples that we are sending for testing (from the seized consignment), we will initiate action as per law and FSSAI protocols,” he said. The Food Safety department has impressed upon the Food Business Operators in J&K to ensure they source fresh and healthy meats or frozen meats with clear information on source, type, and maintaining the cold chain.