Srinagar, Dec 17: Health Officer Srinagar Municipal Corporation Dr Shafqat Khan Tuesday alleged that he was threatened by the Kanwal Group for releasing the ‘Quality Test Report’ whereby it was found that company using harmful colouring agents in its spices, which can cause cancer.
“Instead of sending a legal notice, they (Kanwal) in the afternoon send Advocate Molvi Aijaz on behalf of Kanwal Group to my office and threaten me of dire consequences for releasing the report. He used unparliamentarily language against me,” Khan alleged.
Khan said that without any orders from the court, the advocate started asking him information about the procedure of conducting the tests.
Khan said that he has already filed the complaint against the Advocate at Shahid Gunj Police Station.
Khan said that a sample of Saunf powder manufactured by M/S Kanwal Agro Food Industries Anantnag sold to the public in Valley contained ‘coloring agents’ that can prove deadly for the consumers.
“A sample of Saunf powder manufactured by M/S Kanwal Agro Food Industries Anantnag bearing lot No. KA/SP/E, with packaging date June 04, 2013 has been declared unsafe and hazardous by the central Food laboratory Kolkata,” Dr Khan had said in a statement.
Khan said that the spice contains coloring agents like Carmoisine and Tartrazine which can cause serious health hazards on consumption.
However, the company Tuesday termed the claims made by the health officer ‘as hollow’ and said: we have initiated legal action against Dr Khan for maligning the image and credibility of the company.
The company said the fennel sample was sent to the office of the Public Analyst Kashmir who cleared the samples. “The concerned Health Officer, as per his statement, was dissatisfied with the report and thereof claims to have sent the counter samples fennel to the Central Testing Laboratory Kolkatta to counter
verify the sample for chemical characteristics and the report furnished by the laboratory claims that it found Carmoisine and Tartrazine were found in the tested samples,” Kanwal Agro said in a statement issued today.
“We have initiated legal action against the concerned Health Officer as no SOP’s have been followed in our case and the rules and regulation laid down in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 were not followed,” the statement issued by the leading spice manufacturer which supplies spices to nearly 30 countries across the globe read.
The company has directed all distributors, retailers and consumers to stop the sale or distribution of fennel and return the product so that it could be destroyed. “We reassure the general public that neither Carmoisine nor Tartrazine are mixed in our fennel nor can it be mixed since that would impart red or yellow colour to the product,” the statement reads.
The company has formed a team which is lifting the adultered spice from the market. However, Dr Shafqat Khan said that he stand by his report and is ready for any legal action.
“I am ready for any legal action if proved wrong. I stand by my report and won’t change it under any threat or pressure,” Khan said.
Meanwhile Station Head Officer Shahid Gunj Police Station, Sajad Sarwar said that they have received the complaint and were investigating the case.
“We have received the complaint and have started the investigation,” Sarwar told Rising Kashmir.
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