Many occasion, people of Jammu raised voices against substandard food products, mustard oil. The administration has made the Drugs and Food Safety department as defunct department since 2019. The Drugs and Food Safety Depatment , J&K woke up from deep slumber when complaints from different quarters to ban import of rotten/unlabelled meat into J&K UT. Since it is a matter of people’s health all the unbranded, substandard food products, mustard oil are easily available in the
market. Since 2020 of August, Jammu has been rattled with unsafe products meant to be distributed to various eateries of the Union Territory of J&K. No body listening to the complaints of media and people in the administration. Many a times media published stories on unsafe or stale products supplied to people opposite St Peter Church, Last more Gandhinagar, Jammu by food carts meat. However, neither Lt Governor administration nor Drugs and Food Safety deptt, J&K took those complaints seriously. People’s have also requested to the Food and Supply minister, J&K to direct Drugs and Food Safety deptt, J&K to intensify market checkings, those carts owners or establishments involved in this practice should not be ignored to please the please bosses at Delhi or Raj Bhawan.The government must respond a positive note and accepted that there should be intensified checking of street food vendors and local dhabas selling wazwan. It is observed that most of this substandard food products sold by street vendors in the markets in Jammu city. An exemplary punitive action against those found selling unsafe food be taken. The Drugs & Food Control Deptt must swung in acrtion , book violators, seize stocks under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006. The department has directed all Food Business Operators including manufacturers, processors, transporters, retailers, wholesalers, and online platforms to strictly comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2020, but no boyd bother. The department should warn violaters that non-compliance would invite strict enforcement, including seizure of stock and heavy monetary penalties for selling unsafe food. The department should not stict its checking, there are many more adulterated items available in the market like mustard oil, spices, pulses, Cheese , bathing soaps etc. The Drugs and Food Safety Department officials must also take samples of all of these items from different shop keepers for advanced testing. The substandard and potentially rotten mustard oil, Desi and Dalda Ghees have been reported in Jammu city , with cases involving counterfeit products like a duplicate of P-Mark mustard oil and other instances of poor quality oil. Authorities Food Safety Department along with J&K Police must intensify checking on the sale of misbranded and substandard mustard oil in the Jammu. Reports emerged companies allegedly openly supplying substandard mustard oil in Jammu markets. The Drugs and Food safety departments should lift and tested samples from various outlets. The issue of substandard and counterfeit food products, including mustard oil, is not new and has been acknowledged by officials in J&K, but Administration never took the complaints of people’s seriously. There should be greater vigilance from the Food Safety Department and stricter enforcement to protect public health from these unsafe products.
