Adil Ahmad
Srinagar, Apr 09
While the adulterated food items are leading to several cancers, the substandard food items continue to flow into markets of Jammu and Kashmir.
Several studies have found that adulterated food items are main reasons for increasing cancers. In Jammu and Kashmir, where people take junk-foods and at several places poor quality food items is also reason for increasing gastrointestinal cancer, followed by colon and lung cancer.
At the same time, the adulterated food items being imported into Jammu and Kashmir, posing a greater risk to health.
An official of the Food Safety Department said there has been an increase in the sale and intake of misbranded food items in the Jammu and Kashmir.
“Out of the samples collected from the market, 50% were either substandard or unsafe for consumption,” the official said.
In the last 10 months, official figures of the Food Safety Department reveal that out of 1351 samples of different food items collected by food inspectors from the Kashmir division, 330 were found unsafe, 106 substandard, and 204 were misbranded.
In Srinagar district, the Food Safety Department had collected 445 samples for testing, while 135 food items were found to be “misbranded and substandard”.
Figures reveal that a total amount of Rs 35 lakh was collected as fine from 739 people convicted of adulteration since April 2017.
In Jammu, the trend is almost same where around 50 percent collected samples were found unsafe or misbranded, sources said.
Assistant Food Commissioner, Hilal Ahmad Mir, said, “We have received numerous complaints of food adulteration. We have managed to successfully prosecute 40 cases in the last 10 months.”
Mir said, “Food adulterators are now mainly targeting the fast food business, putting the lives of unsuspecting valleyities at great risk.”
He said eatables are deemed to be falling short of the permissible standards. “The harmful colouring agents like Carmoisine, Tratrazine and sunset yellow is widely in fast food,” he said.
While vowing action against the shopkeepers selling adulterated food, Mir said, “There shall be no comprise on human health. We are prepared to deal with those who use substandard material in their food,” he added.
Echoing similar views, another official said, “In the last several years, there has been considerable improvement in food adulteration. We are trying our level best to keep a check on the adulterated food in the market.”
The High Court has stressed the need for prohibitory measures for the strict implementation of Food Safety and Security Act, which essentially ensures prevents food adulteration in the state.
The lack of coordination between the Food Safety Department and the Additional Deputy Commissioners is affecting to put curb on sub-standard food items in the state.
