Unlabelled 340 kg meat seized in J&K's Srinagar city

Srinagar, Sep 7 (IANS) The authorities on Sunday seized 340 kg of unlabelled meat being carried in an auto-rickshaw in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city.

Officials said here that kilos of unlabelled meat had arrived at the Air Cargo terminal in Srinagar.

“The seizure of 340 kgs of unlabelled meat was made after the enforcement team of the deputy commissioner, state sales tax department, shared the information. Acting swiftly on the information, officials of the food safety department and police, acting in coordination, seized the consignment outside the Air Cargo terminal in Srinagar,” the officials said, adding that the seized meat was found without any mandatory label or declaration," officials said.

Further legal proceedings have been initiated, and the matter is under investigation, the officials added.

The authorities have reiterated that such checks will continue to ensure compliance with food safety and taxation norms.

It must be recalled that a rotten meat scandal rocked Kashmir last month when hundreds of kgs of rotten meat and chicken were recovered by officials of the food safety department after raiding a number of storage facilities, eateries and restaurants.

The scandal created so much anger and fear among the people that wild rumours floated about the origin of such huge consignments of rotten meat finding their way into the Valley.

Two days back, officials of the food safety department raided a restaurant in Ganderbal town and recovered rotten meat.

Religious, political and social leaders and activists have been voicing serious concern about such rotten meat, especially in minced meat preparations that have been sold in large quantities before the scandal was unearthed.

In their weekly sermons, religious leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have expressed anger at such rotten meat having been sold in the Valley.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq expressed shock at the fact that the owners of all such storage facilities, eateries and restaurants where rotten meat was seized were owned by the locals.

--IANS

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