Jammu Kashmir Launches Action Plan After Seizures of Substandard Meat, Dairy

SRINAGAR: In the wake of recent seizures of substandard meat and dairy products across Jammu and Kashmir, the administration on Friday rolled out a comprehensive action plan to curb food adulteration and safeguard public health.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired an inter-departmental meeting to review the measures, directing stringent action against unlabelled and non-standard packaged food items, particularly imported products that conceal ingredient and product details. He described such practices as “blatant violations of law.”

The action plan, prepared by the Food Safety Wing in collaboration with key departments, focuses on surprise inspections, district-wise mapping of food businesses, and strengthening infrastructure for surveillance. Joint inspection teams and flying squads will target high-risk sectors such as meat, milk, and bakery products.

Checkpoints and cold-chain facilities are to be set up at toll plazas, entry points, and major transport routes to monitor consignments, while modern slaughterhouses with frozen storage facilities will be developed to meet the meat demand deficit of nearly 257.5 lakh kg in the UT.

Mandatory hygiene standards at meat shops, routine veterinary inspections, and public awareness campaigns are part of the initiative. Citizens will also be encouraged to report cases of adulteration, with District-Level Advisory Committees holding monthly reviews to monitor progress.

Dulloo stressed that effective coordination among departments would be central to the effort, adding that the goal was not only stricter regulation but also building awareness and accountability.