The Jammu and Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Association (JKHARA) today urged the government to take immediate action to stop the entry of unbranded and unlabeled frozen meat and chicken being supplied to the Union Territory.
In the past two weeks, authorities have seized more than 12,000 kilograms of unsafe, rotten, and unlabelled meat during raids across Kashmir, sparking widespread public concern and prompting many residents to avoid eating out.”
Addressing the media, JKHARA vice-president Babar Chowdhary said that the recovery of rotten, unbranded meat has genuinely created panic among the public over food safety.
The Association highlighted two major concerns-first, the supply of unbranded and unlabeled frozen products entering the valley, and second, the lack of proper cold chain management that often results in the meat turning rotten.
Quoting the Food Safety Act, the members stressed that every packed food item must carry proper labeling, including manufacturing details, batch number, expiry date, storage temperature, FSSAI license number, and customer care information.
“Unbranded products without labeling are directly putting the health of the public at risk. Frozen items must be transported under strict cold chain systems, but violations are rampant,” they said.
Chowdhary said a delegation of the Association also met with Food and Supplies Minister Satish Sharma on August 14.
” We requested the government to immediately stop the entry of unbranded and unlabeled frozen meat and chicken at check posts at Lakhanpur and Qazigund,” he said.
We also appealed to the government to intensify market inspections by the Food Safety Department, with names of violators made public through the media.
The Association also demanded stricter monitoring of local dhabas and street vendors, where much of the unsafe supply allegedly ends up
The Association questioned how unbranded boneless meat could reach the valley at prices as low as Rs 160 per kg when local market rates are around Rs 700 per kg.
“This raises serious doubts about the quality and safety of such imports,” they said.
Reiterating that the issue is not limited to restaurants but concerns the health of the entire population of J&K, the Association appealed for urgent intervention to safeguard public health.
