Srinagar, Aug 10: Continuing its intensified inspections across Kashmir, particularly in Srinagar, the Food Safety Department on Sunday clarified that the meat seized during recent raids was halal but substandard, and urged religious leaders not to give the matter a communal or religious angle.
Speaking to media during the inspection, Assistant Labour Commissioner Hilal Ahmad Mir said, “Today we conducted checking and found coloured kababs something I have repeatedly warned the public about due to its harmful effects on health. Such items are sometimes used in wazwan, but we cannot attend every marriage function, people need to be aware themselves.”
Addressing public concerns, Mir said, “The most important thing is that people are wrongly assuming this is haram meat. This is absolutely incorrect. I can confirm it is halal meat. However, it is substandard, without labels, and artificially coloured, a clear violation of the Food Safety Act. That is why it is being seized and destroyed,” adding that “we are conducting legal sampling on the spot.
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Hilal said, “I request imams and khateebs not to give this issue a religious angle. It is halal meat, but the method of processing and the use of food colour is wrong. People must remain alert about what they are consuming.”
The official also urged citizens to cooperate with the department, “We have seen such unsafe food items thrown on the streets. I appeal to people do not discard them publicly. Instead, voluntarily contact the department. If anyone is found in possession of such unsafe food items and approaches us, we will act leniently.”
The department reiterated that while the seized meat was not prohibited on religious grounds, it was unfit for consumption under health regulations. Strict enforcement against substandard food items will continue in the coming days, officials said.
Officials said more than 3,000 kilograms of substandard kababs and gushtabas were seized and destroyed over the past two days at multiple locations in the city.
According to officials, the crackdown began on Saturday with a raid at HMT Srinagar, where an ice cream store was found illegally operating and selling kababs and gushtabas. On Sunday morning, inspections were carried out at various other locations, resulting in the seizure of around 2,500 kababs and 1,000 gushtabas. The Legal Metrology Department at Bulbul Bagh Barzulla also recovered meat consignments without manufacturer labels or valid manufacturing dates. (JKNS)
