Govt bans sale, production of ‘unsafe’ Khyber milk products

In the wake of orders of a court in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, the J&K government Wednesday ordered recall of milk and all milk products manufactured by Khyber Agro Farms and directed that these products should not be supplied till further directions.
The government has issued orders for implementing the judgment of Judicial Magistrate Budgam and ordered Controller Drug and Food Control Organisation to “remove milk and milk products manufactured by Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited ‘immediately’.”
The Health and Medical Education Department, in its order No HD/Legal/Drug/MR-56/2016 dated 06-04-2016 ordered that no milk or milk product of the company be available for human consumption till these products are declared safe by a referral laboratory in Kolkata.
The court had Monday directed Commissioner Food Safety to ensure that “the convicted company is closed and its products taken off from the market”, unless certified to be safe by the food testing lab that had initially issued report that the milk samples of the company tested by it were ‘unsafe’ for human consumption.
The lab had found detergent in milk samples of the company, a chemical that medical report submitted by SKIMS had stated was carcinogenic in nature.
The government also issued ordered a ‘detailed inquiry’ into the ‘conduct’ of Hamidullah Dar, Assistant Controller Food Safety Kashmir and Zahoor Ahmed Beigh, Food Inspector Beerwah and attached the two officers with Deputy Controller DFCO. Irfana Ahmed, Deputy Controller DFCO has been appointed Enquiry Officer and directed to submit the report within 30 days.
The court had taken a serious note of the manner of conduct of the two officers and put on record appreciation for ZeenatAyoub, Food Safety Officer and the complainant of the case.
The DFCO has also been directed to ensure samples of all kinds of milk products by Khyber as well as other companies be sent for testing to Referral Lab Kolkata ‘without any delay’.
Commissioner Food Safety, Dr MK Bhandari said that the order is in compliance with the court directions. “We will be taking a daily stock of the situation and progress on the case,” he said.
Khyber Agro Farms was on Monday convicted of supplying detergent-laced milk. The court imposed a fine of Rs. 9 lakh on the company.