Srinagar: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Jammu and Kashmir, has conducted a Union Territory-wide special enforcement drive on milk and milk products, carrying out 213 inspections and collecting 170 milk samples for quality and safety testing.
According to the FDA, Food Safety teams inspected retail milk vendors across various districts and collected 170 enforcement samples of loose milk for testing at NABL-accredited Food Testing Laboratories to assess prescribed quality and safety parameters.
The samples were collected from Jammu, Samba, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua, Srinagar, Anantnag, Bandipora, Budgam, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts. Besides milk, 10 samples of other high-risk food commodities were also collected for quality and safety analysis.
The FDA said the drive was undertaken to strengthen regulatory oversight over the quality and safety of milk and milk products, which are among the most widely consumed and highly perishable food items.
During the enforcement drive, three Food Business Operators (FBOs) were compounded under Section 69 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and fined ₹5,000 each for violations detected during inspections. Five improvement notices were also issued to Food Business Operators for deficiencies related to sanitary and hygienic conditions.
The FDA said similar enforcement and sampling drives will continue across the Union Territory, particularly targeting high-risk food commodities such as meat and meat products, sweets and bakery products. It said action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, will be initiated against Food Business Operators found violating prescribed food safety standards.
The administration also advised consumers to remain vigilant while purchasing milk and milk products and report suspected cases of unsafe, adulterated or substandard food through the toll-free helpline 104 or via email at cfsjandk.fnd@jk.gov.in.
