People living in central Kashmir have raised concerns over food safety after a video surfaced on social media showing infected and expired raw material being used for making sweets ahead of Eid al-Adha.
The video shows the officials from the district administration checking the quality of food at a particular outlet in Chadoora region of Budgam district in central Kashmir. The officials found adulterated ingredients being used by the bakers for preparing sweets.
The district administration has sealed the shop and vowed to conduct more food inspection drives ahead of Eid when the sales of sweets and other bakery items increase exponentially in Kashmir.
However, people of Kashmir have criticized the state government for failing to curb the menace of food adulteration in the Valley and for only showing up a few days ahead of important occasions.
"This should have been a year around feature, particularly when citizens have been complaining about the quality of food being served. But sadly, the food inspectors are nowhere to be seen along with the district administration teams as a result of which the health of common people suffers," Muhammad Tariq, a resident of Chadoora said.
The state government had decided to set up several mobile food testing laboratories last year but the process has come to a standstill due to the unavailability of trained staff and non-procurement of equipments.
A Kashmir High Court, while taking note of the inadequate food testing facilities, had ordered for an upgrade in the existent food testing laboratories in Srinagar and Jammu in 2016. The court also ordered for an improvement in such facilities after criticising the state government for failing to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
On the occasion of Eid and during the holy month of Ramzan, bakeries in Kashmir demand exorbitantly high prices for sweets, which has also gone unchecked over the past many years.
Check out the video here:
