Ensuring food security

The Division Bench of the State High Court has asked the State Government many questions which clearly show that the Bench has doubts that the State authorities are not taking the subject of food security as seriously as it should be taken. Under Food and Standards Act a Commissioner and other allied post should have been filled long back. This is not the case and, therefore the court ordered that these appointments be made by the next hearing of the case. So grave are the doubts of the court that during the proceedings it questioned Controller Food Safety whether existing 76 FSOs were fully qualified for the posts. The court also questioned about the mobile vans, which were formed in terms of previous directions and in this regard court has been informed that department has received 5 mobile vans but manpower (drivers) for these vans were yet to be appointed. Court was apprised that from March 2016 to March 2017, 2179 samples were lifted in Jammu Division and 1806 samples were tested in which 365 samples have been found in contravention of FSS Act and 373 samples are pending for testing. In Kashmir Division, 1594 samples have been lifted and 1150 samples tested. Out of them, 241 have been found in contravention of FSS Act and 444 samples are pending for testing. These figures show that there is adulteration of food products on a large scale and thus the health of the people is endangered.
We cannot understand why the Government is treating this vital issue in a casual manner. The Bench is doubtful about the proper functionality of food testing laboratories and it has ordered that experts from national cadres be invited to examine whether the two testing laboratories in Jammu and Srinagar meet the stipulated standards or not. The simple inference that one draws from the comments and questions of the court is that it is not at all satisfied that the State Government takes food security as seriously as it should.

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