E. Coli Found in Packaged Water, Kashmir Bans Ajwa Brand | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Concerns over drinking water safety have intensified across the Kashmir Valley after authorities banned the sale of a packaged water brand in Srinagar following laboratory confirmation of bacterial contamination, even as multiple food products remain under scrutiny in the wake of recent public health scares.

The Food Safety Department has prohibited the sale, storage, distribution and display of Ajwa packaged drinking water within Srinagar district after samples tested at the National Food Testing Laboratory in Ghaziabad were found contaminated with E. coli and coliform bacteria. An order issued by the Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, Srinagar, said the ban would remain in force with immediate effect and until further directions.

Food business operators, wholesalers and retailers have been directed to immediately stop selling the product and submit details of existing stock of the affected batch to the department within 48 hours. Officials said the presence of E. coli and coliform bacteria renders the water unfit for human consumption and poses a serious public health risk.

The Srinagar ban follows a series of food safety actions across the Valley. In south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, authorities recently ordered the recall of a specific batch of Butter Delite biscuits manufactured under the Priyagold brand after laboratory tests found sulphite levels exceeding permissible limits. Food safety officials in the district said stockists were directed to withdraw the affected batch from the market without delay.

Earlier, another packaged drinking water brand, Snowdrop, was banned after tests reportedly detected arsenic contamination, raising wider questions about quality control and monitoring in the bottled water sector in the Valley.

Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Jammu and Kashmir, Smita Sethi said the detections were the outcome of intensified and planned inspection drives. She said once a product is declared unsafe in one district, other districts are alerted to look for the same product to prevent wider exposure. “The action is not confined to one area alone. Consumer safety is the primary concern,” she said.

The renewed focus on packaged water and processed foods comes weeks after the Valley was rocked by the recovery of tonnes of unlabelled and allegedly rotten meat during enforcement drives. In September, police registered six cases and seized nearly 13,000 kilograms of meat and meat products for violating public health norms. The episode severely dented consumer confidence and hit the restaurant and meat trade across Kashmir.

Adding to the unease, National Conference legislator Tanvir Sadiq recently raised concerns over reports of carcinogenic nitrofuran and nitroimidazole residues allegedly detected in eggs sold in local markets, urging the Health and Consumer Affairs departments to order immediate sampling and testing.

Kashmir cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has also called on the administration to make public the findings of investigations into food safety violations, including the rotten meat episode, and to spell out corrective measures taken to prevent recurrence. He said public accountability required transparency when issues directly affecting health and safety emerge.

With bottled water now firmly under the scanner, officials say inspection drives will continue across Jammu and Kashmir, even as consumers remain wary amid a growing list of banned and recalled food products in the Valley.