Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The Food and Drugs Administration, Jammu and Kashmir, has widened its food safety enforcement net to cover canteens, messes and other food premises operating inside universities, medical colleges, engineering colleges, hospitals, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Gujjar and Bakerwal hostels across all districts of the Union Territory, as part of a special inspection drive aimed at ensuring students, patients, attendants and staff have access to safe and hygienic food.
During the drive, Food Safety Officers inspected 108 premises and lifted 62 food samples, which have been sent for testing to NABL-accredited food testing laboratories. Inspectors examined a wide range of parameters, including FSSAI registration and licensing status, hygiene and sanitation standards, the medical fitness of food handlers, availability of potable water, storage and handling practices, pest control measures, waste management systems and the use of food-grade materials in preparation and storage.
The exercise turned up a range of deficiencies across the inspected premises, including outlets operating without valid FSSAI registration or licensing, inadequate pest control arrangements, lapses in the medical fitness documentation of food handlers, improper storage and handling practices, structural and sanitation shortcomings, and the use of non-food-grade materials. Twenty-four premises were found to be functioning entirely without the required FSSAI registration or license, prompting action under Sections 55, 58 and 63 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 against all such establishments.
On the enforcement side, 15 cases were compounded under Section 69 of the Act, drawing a cumulative fine of Rs 35,000. Three further cases have been recommended for penal action under Sections 56 and 58, provisions that carry substantially steeper consequences, with Section 56 allowing penalties of up to Rs 1 lakh for processing or manufacturing food under insanitary conditions, and Section 58 allowing penalties of up to Rs 2 lakh. Food Safety Officers concerned have been directed to carry out follow-up inspections to verify compliance with the improvement notices and directions already issued.
The FDA said food safety in educational and healthcare settings remains a standing priority, and that inspection, sampling and enforcement activity would continue across the Union Territory under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and its accompanying regulations. Consumers have been urged to report any suspected unsafe or adulterated food through the department’s toll-free helpline, 104, or by writing to cfsjandk.fnd@jk.gov.in.
