High Court wants Expert Committee to investigate Khyber Agro Milk Farms

SRINAGAR, Apr 7: Division Bench of High Court has directed Commissioner, Food Safety, to constitute committee of experts to inspect milk processing unit run by respondent Khyber Agro Milk Farms and submit detailed report.

Division Bench of the court comprising of Justice Hasnain Masoodi and D S Thakur directed that the committee shall comprise of deputy Controller Drugs, Kashmir and Diary experts/diary technologists from SKUAST, Abdul Wahid, former District and Sessions Judge, amongst its members to inspect the milk processing unit run by respondent Khyber Agro Milk Farms in the first place.

Experts shall submit comprehensive report by next date of hearing, the bench said. Committee has been tasked to file its report elucidating whether Khyber Agro farms has a milk processing plant conforming to prescribed standards to process the milk, whether the plant is equipped with necessary laboratory to test the milk received from milk producers of the area and Buffalo milk imported from outside state and whether milk procured and imported corresponds to volume to the milk marketed.

In other direction, Division bench directed Food Safety Officers, Designated Officers and all those involved in place as on date in implementation of the Food Safety Act, to pull up their socks, hone up machinery and speed up lifting and analysis of samples and food items, transported, manufactured, stored and marketed in the state without showing any leniency to big players in the market so that food items free from adulteration are made available to consumers.

Respondents shall submit comprehensive report regarding samples lifted from 1st January 2014 to i-e that is first quarter of the year, indicating number of samples referred to notified Laboratories/Referral Laboratories and the result of analysis and action taken, court said.

Incharge Food Analysis Laboratory at Srinagar and Jammu, the Division bench said, shall submit information regarding capacity of two laboratories set up to analyse samples and the number of samples two laboratories can handle a year having regard to machinery, infrastructure and manpower.

Commissioner Food Safety shall file an affidavit, explaining reasons for disobedience of order dated 13th February 2014. Division bench said in order to further clarify previous direction, it is directed that only 05 samples of milk/milk products marketed by M/s Khyber Agro Milk Farms, one from each of the districts within its area of operation, shall be lifted on rotational basis in a week and got analysed by Food Analyst and an Accredited Laboratory outside the state.

"We modify direction dated 13th February 2014 to the extent it requires forwarding one pan of the sample to Referral laboratory. The respondent instead shall, while forwarding one part of sample to Food Analyst within State, forward another part of the sample to a Laboratory notified by Food Safety Authority in terms of Section 43, Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, outside the Sate. 

Food business operators/dealer, therefore, shall continue to have right to get one of the parts of the sample analysed by Accredited laboratory and in case of variance, even approach Referral Laboratory for analysis of other part of sample and have final word from Referral Laboratory."

As there is a general impression that what is sold in the market by M/s Khyber Agro and other companies, is pure cow's milk, the court directed, respondents -M/s Khyber Agro milk Farms and also other companies, engaged in marketing milk, shall shall inform general public through print media that what is sold by diem is not pure cow's milk but processed milk. They shall also notify the source of milk marketed as well as mode and manner in which marketed milk is processed.

The respondents, the division bench said, shall give particulars of accused in three complaints filed against Khyber Agro Milk Farms, Avon Agro Industries Private Limited and Kanwal Agro Food Industries, and the position they hold in the company, so as to enable the Court to examine whether complaint has been filed against all those allegedly involved in commission of offence as provided under Food Safety and Standard Act and that none amongst the Proprietors/Directors etc. of the company(ies) required to be arrayed accused in terms of the Act, ate shielded and complaints filed only against lower rung employees of the company(ies).

"Respondents shall initiate process to fill up various posts provided under the Act, vacant as on date and file status report regarding state of selection process," the division bench said. Division bench directed respondents to submit analysis reports of samples lifted from food items marketed by Khyber Agro Milk Farms, Avon Agro Industries Private Limited and Kanwal Agro Food Industries, in compliance of order dated 13th February 2014.

Earlier official respondents filed status report, indicating that out of 1663 samples lifted in Jammu Division, 287 have been found substandard/misbranded/unsafe. Prosecution, however, has been launched only in respect of 200 samples. The action taken in respect of 87 samples is not explained. Again in most of the cases, accused have been let off with fine unmindful of the fact that the Act prescribes minimum punishment and punishment below minimum is not permissible under law.

In Kashmir Division, Out of 1405 samples 344 samples have been found substandard /misbranded/ unsafe. However, prosecution has been launched only against 231 accused.