Key Points

The Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting on market regulation here today.

According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Omar Abdullah stressed that consumer health and safety must be the top priority, and no compromise would be tolerated when it comes to food quality.

The Food Safety Department has been instructed to conduct surprise market inspections, particularly targeting meat sellers, and to ensure that all products meet prescribed hygiene and quality standards.

"Violators will face strict legal action, including fines and closure of establishments," said Omar Abdullah.

The Chief Minister also called for coordination between municipal bodies, police and market regulators to ensure that the crackdown is effective and sustained.

Citizens have been urged to report any instance of suspected substandard or unhygienic meat to the concerned authorities.

For the last week, concerns have been raised over the sale of low-quality and unhygienic meat in several districts of J&K, prompting demands for tougher enforcement of food safety laws.

The latest directives are part of a broader effort by the government to improve public health standards and restore consumer confidence in local markets.

Kashmir has been rocked by a rotten meat scandal that came to light when the officials of the food safety department raided many wholesale and retail meat outlets.

Hundreds of kilos of rotten meat were stored at the premises of the dealers, and these were destroyed, in addition to the registration of FIRs against such dealers.

The discovery of various items of the traditional Kashmiri cuisine called the 'Wazwan', prepared by using rotten meat, has shocked the Kashmiri society.

Social and religious leaders have demanded exemplary punishment for such dealers in addition to identification of the sources from where such sub-standard, hazardous meat is brought into the Valley.

- IANS