Food Adulteration: ‘Higher-Ups Sleep On Field Reports’

Srinagar, Jan 13: After the shocking revelations by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India that 83 per cent of milk produced and consumed in Jammu and Kashmir was contaminated with components like salt, detergents, caustic soda and several other harmful substances, the Drugs and Food Control Organization, Kashmir, Friday asserted 30 per cent of food items in the Valley were “highly adulterated,” while Kashmir alone consumed 75 per cent of contaminated milk.
“Kashmir consumes 30 per cent of adulterated food items - spices, biscuit, edible oil, salt, and many other eatables, which is shocking. Besides, the Valley people alone consume 75 per cent contaminated milk being produced by local companies,” public analyst/ designated officer, Drugs and Food Control Organization, Hamidullah Dar, alleged while talking to Kashmir Observer.
He said the food safety officers had been working in different districts and sub districts to check the menace of contamination and they had been collecting samples of milk from time to time, for which they had already sent reports to higher authorities to take action against the companies involved in adulteration.
“We collected samples from every corner of the valley and during their testing we found that out of eight samples, six were adulterated with starch, detergent and some synthetic substances,” Dar said, adding “In many other food and edible items, our experts found that turmeric and chili powder, sounp, sweets, ghee, pickles, oils, salt had been adulterated with toxic colors, starch with other harmful substances”.
He said his team had done the sampling and prepared the report before FSSI. Asked why he did not take action against the companies involved in contamination, Dar said, “As a concerned officer, my job is to frame the report and highlight the areas and companies involved in contamination and my work remains restricted to laboratory only, rest is the job of higher authorities.”
Reliable sources in the Drugs & Food Control Organization said contaminated products were a source of income for various law enforcement officials and other unscrupulous elements.
“Contamination is possible only when concerned administration officials adopt a non-serious approach towards the companies involved in the crime. Although lower rung officials do their job like sampling, testing and reporting their findings to the food commissioner and other authorities who, on their part more often than not prefer to look the other way. The chief minister should order appropriate action in the matter,” said a well placed official, wishing anonymity.
Refuting claims of the commissioner, Food Safety, that food inspectors had been asked to collect samples, sources revealed their earlier reports had been ignored.
“On August 5, 2011, we started sampling in different areas and all the food inspectors worked very hard, and then we found most of the products, milk as well as other eatables contaminated. We sent the report to the commissioner sahib, what happened to that, please ask him,” said the official.
Pertinently, Kashmir Valley alone produces 11.32 lakh tonnes of milk annually.
“If Omar Abdullah is serious in improving the health sector, he should not let people die. He should immediately check the menace of adulteration to bring down the incidence of diseases. But, they are busy in their own world,” said a senior citizen, Muhammad Abdullah of Budgam.
When contacted, Commissioner, Food Safety, Jammu and Kashmir, Satish Gupta, said he was looking into the report and would take action very soon. Then, he dropped the phone. When this reporter made attempts to ascertain his response to reports of drug inspectors about contamination of milk and other edible items already lying with him, the commissioner finally answered the call for a few seconds and said. “Right now there is no light here, we will talk tomorrow about this”.
Meanwhile, the director, Animal Husbandry, Kashmir, Dr Farooq Ahmad Kaloo, said, “I think majority of our milk producers in the state don’t even know about the harmful chemicals added to milk elsewhere in the country. Our milk producers, I mean the dairy farmers, are innocent. Their intelligence and knowledge is limited to water and water chestnut flour adulteration whereas outside they use urea, soaps, vegetable fat and even formalin. But this too has to be stopped immediately,” he said.
“Whatever milk we import, I do not hold a brief for that. My unit is not allowed to test the tankers of milk coming daily to Kashmir, which is another issue,” Dr Kaloo said.
Talking to Kashmir Observer, deputy commissioner, Srinagar, Baseer Ahmad Khan, said that they will soon take action against the companies involved in adulteration.
“On the priority basis, I had ordered constitution of three committees comprising experts from Health and Drug departments, SMC and others to monitor the markets and check the level of adulteration. We will not spare anybody found guilty in adulterating food items or milk,” he said, adding the officials had done video sampling of certain companies as well and once the report came these companies were going to have tough time.