J&K FDA boosts food safety surveillance with over 13,000 inspections in 2025

Concerned by adulteration and ensuring the availability of safe and hygienic food across Jammu and Kashmir, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted 13,944 routine inspections in 2025, leading to case registrations, prosecutions, and imposition of penalties against violators.

During the inspections, the FDA collected 10,620 samples against the annual target of 7,080, FDA Commissioner Smetha Sethi said.

The department had achieved more than 150 per cent of the target as compared to last year, reflecting its strong commitment to consumer safety. She said food safety officers also carried out 1,423 risk-based inspections across the Union Territory in addition to routine checks.

“To ensure infrastructure and hygiene compliance, 943 Improvement Notices were issued to Food Business Operators (FBOs) under Section 32 of the FSS Act, surpassing the target of 625 notices,” Sethi said.

The Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, establishes the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. Under the civil adjudication process (Section 30), a total of 718 prosecutions were launched, of which 671 cases have already been decided, resulting in penalties amounting to Rs 84.33 lakh, she added.

Besides, 21 criminal cases involving unsafe food were filed, with convictions secured in 10 cases, including fines and imprisonment.

Giving details of special enforcement drives conducted in November, Sethi said a focused drive on ghee resulted in the seizure of 80.78 kg of stock. “Of the 41 samples tested, 12 failed quality standards, following which prohibition orders were issued against the manufacturers”. The information has been shared with the FSSAI and the concerned states, for action, she said.

Sethi further said that during the Poly Pack Milk drive, 95 samples were tested, of which only two failed, while the test results for the 32 samples of the packaged drinking water are awaited.— PTI