Srinagar, August 11: Minister for Health, Medical Education, Social Welfare, and Education, SakinaItoo, on Monday said that the sale of substandard and rotten meat or chicken will invite strict action and the government will not tolerate it.
Calling the sale of rotten meat and chicken unfortunate, she said the Chief Minister has also convened a meeting of officers, ministers to plan a strategy to curb sale of such products.
“This is not an easy matter, people are playing with your health, giving you such products that are full of adulteration. We are shocked at the extent of contamination in these products,” she said.
Sakina said Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 64,463 cancer cases over the past seven years, including 50,551 from Kashmir and there are serious health problems such as tumours, sudden heart attacks, and other diseases.
“Young people dying of heart attacks is a matter of grave concern. There is adulteration and chemicals in almost everything,” she said.
The minister said the government is thinking very seriously about this issue adding whoever is involved in this, no matter who they are, action will be taken against them, they will be punished, and measures will be put in place to stop this.
She said that the Chief Minister has announced today itself that a food testing lab will be set up in every district so that meat, chicken, and similar products can be tested on the spot. “We are very serious about this matter,” the Health Minister said.
Notably, in response to the large-scale seizure of rotten meat and chicken, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today chaired an emergency meeting at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar to address the escalating crisis of adulterated meat being sold across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting focused on the recent seizures of unsafe meat products, the action plan to thwart any attempts to sell such items, and a comprehensive roadmap for departments to ensure that such sales do not occur at the cost of public health.
Officials of Food Safety Department, Kashmir, said all necessary protocols are being strictly followed when meat and chicken are imported from outside the Valley, including transportation under a temperature-controlled system and mandatory labelling checks.
Meanwhile, the crackdown on substandard and unhygienic meat continues across J&K, with intensified inspections aimed at breaking the entire illegal supply chain, identifying those involved at every level, and ensuring that only safe, quality meat reaches consumers.
