India’s largest meat safety drive shakes food industry

Srinagar, Aug 11: Criticism aside, the crackdown on meat in J&K by the Food Wing of the Drug and Food Control Organisation (DFCO) has been unprecedented and is unmatched in its scale and recovery.

Over the past 10 days, the authorities have seized and recovered over 6200 kg of unsafe meat, marking the largest meat-specific food safety drive in any region.

The drive has instilled fear among Food Business Operators (FBOs) who have resorted to self-disposal of questionable food items.

Consumers are voicing demand for sustained action and stricter regulations to ensure a safer plate in J&K.

The current drive surpasses the previous similar campaigns in India in terms of recovery.

The aggressive and, till now, unrelenting campaign has sent shockwaves through the food industry, with suppliers, stockists, and restaurants dumping stocks of meat, kebabs, and even ice cream to evade prosecution.

Between July 31 and August 10, DFCO officials confiscated over 6200 kg of rotten, unlabelled, and suspiciously slaughtered meat, outdoing any known meat seizure in India.

In Kashmir, 3500 kg of putrefying meat, including 1200 kg from Zakura, Srinagar, 1000 kg from Haji-Bagh, HMT, 500 kg from Lasjan, Pulwama, and 250 kg from Nagbal, Ganderbal, was destroyed.

In addition, 2500 kebabs laced with banned food colouring and 150 kg of gushtaba were seized.

In Jammu, two days ago, a shocking 2700 kg of rotting chicken and 100 kg of rotten fish were confiscated from a Gummat cold storage.

Plus, around 1000 kg of expired meat was destroyed on August 8.

J&K’s massive meat consumption makes it imperative to rely on produce from other states, and large quantities of dressed mutton and chicken to cater to demand have been going on for years.

The drive has exposed vulnerabilities.

“This is the largest meat seizure in a single region in India’s recent history,” said a senior Food Safety official.

The scale exceeds reported drives in states like Kerala, where 2000 kg of meat was destroyed in 2023 or Maharashtra, where 1500 kg were destroyed in 2021.

In Uttar Pradesh, approximately 1800 kg of rotten meat were seized and destroyed in 2020.

The ongoing raids and crackdown on meat and meat products being sourced into J&K as part of cold chains have triggered widespread panic among meat suppliers.

There are videos and reports of vendors and cold storage operators dumping suspicious stocks stealthily to avoid detection.

For example, in Pulwama, 350 kg of meat was found dumped in Gallandar.

Similarly, kebabs, gushtaba, and even ice cream were found dumped in Srinagar’s outskirts.

“The fear of being raided and being prosecuted is palpable,” said a local trader in Srinagar’s Safa Kadal market. “Nobody wants to be caught with substandard stock now.”

This ongoing drive signals a remarkable shift from the past, where the enforcement drives were perceived as reactionary, once-in-a-while, and inadequate.

Consumers feel violations like unhygienic storage, missing Halal certifications and details about source, and cold-chain failures – meat not stored at minus 18 degrees Celsius often went unchecked.

Many religious leaders, including Grand Mufti Nasir-ul Islam and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have called for stricter Halal compliance and criticised the people who choose such unacceptable tactics for livelihoods.

The impact of this drive is unprecedented, with consumers avoiding restaurants and eateries across J&K.

People are scared to eat out.

J&K’s campaign spans multiple districts and addresses systemic issues in meat procurement, unlike previous regional drives in India, which often targeted single cities or specific violations.

“This is bigger than anything we have seen in other states,” said a Food Safety Officer, citing the coordinated, multi-agency approach and public response.

It is hoped that the crackdown would instil long-overdue discipline in J&K’s food industry.