kashmirdiamond
Aiman Mushtaq
SRINAGAR, JANUARY 19(KD): In Kashmir, mutton isn’t just food _ it is Culture, tradition, and comfort in a plate. But lately, the question of whether the meat is fresh from the butcher, or has it travelled hundreds of kilometres in packets has created a sense of fear and forced everyone to pause and wonder what exactly we’ve been feeding ourselves
Fresh or Frozen? A debate that might sound trivial elsewhere has snowballed into one of Kashmir’s most heated pubic conversations. “Frozen Meat, Frozen Trust ” read one local headline last week as social media buzzed with videos of packed mutton arriving in bulk. What began as a dispute has now become a public health question: what exactly have we been putting into our bodies all this time?
The meat-loving place saw tonnes of rotten meat either dumped or sealed. There has been a seizure of unhygienic meat in the past few weeks. About 1,200 kilograms of rotten meat were seized by the Food Safety Department from a cold Storage facility operating within Zakura Industrial Estate in Srinagar on August 2. Where the traditional preference of the people has been fresh locally slaughtered meat, the people have been consuming unhygienic and unclean meat and this has been going on for many years now. The commission of J and K Food and Drug Administration – Samita Sethi, says,” This isn’t just about meat, it’s about what we’re putting into our bodies,” which is indeed a matter of concern.
For a place that eats more mutton per head than anywhere else in India, the revelation has shaken public trust. This scandal has tarnished the reputation of those establishments that have always served pure and freshly slaughtered meat. From the shepherds in the hills of Gurez to butchers in Srinagar’s market, every line in the Chain has kept not just kitchens running, but livelihood alive. Now, that chain is fraying. The recent seizure of unsafe meat has left shop shutters half closed, customs hesitant, and restaurant tables emptier than usual.
However, in the frozen meat debate, the heart of the matter is health not politics or trade but the safety of what he eats. Health is not just about doctors’ visits and medicines; it begins with what we put on our plates. And when it comes to meat, the risk of getting it wrong can be serious. Experts warn that frozen meat, if not kept at the right temperature, can quickly turn into a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli. A 2023. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI study found that meat exposed even to brief breaks in the cold chain showed bacterial levels well above safety limits within a single day. The World Health Organisation also links such contamination to severe illnesses, sometimes leaving lasting damage to the liver or kidneys. In Kashmir, doctors at Sher Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences have noticed spikes in gastroenteritis and food poisoning cases during high mutton consumption periods and behind these figures are real families, parents sitting by hospital beds, children missing school and neighbours, quietly wondering if the very food they love most is quietly harming them.
For years, food safety rules felt like something distant. But when the raids uncovered tons of rotting unlabelled meat, those rules suddenly step out into the streets overnight, the valley saw a flurry of actions check post sprang up at Lakhanpur and Qazigund to stop suspect consignments before the even entered, inspectors began mapping every butcher, every Dhaba, every cold store and mobile labs rolled into district for on – the – spot testing. In some raids, kebabs dyed with bright synthetic colour were tossed straight into garbage trucks. The official line spoke of a “30-day action plan” and tightened inspections, but for people, it was simpler. This was about trust. “It’s not just meat” One Srinagar resident said, ” it’s about feeling safe when you feed your family. ” Still, the quiet question lingers, if all these safeguards could be deployed now, why were they missing for so many years?
In the valley, the aroma of mutton once meant comfort, a promise that no matter how cold the winter, warmth waited in the kitchen. Today, that same aroma carries a shadow of doubt, this controversy is not just about meat. It’s about people’s trust and dignity, and it’s the love for what we eat and how we live being infiltrated with impurity and filth. It’s not just the hospitals and the healthcare departments that have to maintain the health of the community, but it’s the responsibility of the people living in it, along with the authorities, and the food that is served comes through the people. We have to step up, authorities have to take responsibilities and we all have to be ethical altogether so that we are nourished not harmed. And also, there is a clear, authentic hadeeth that warns against deceit -” Whoever cheats us is not one of us”. So, let’s pledge not to deceive one another and to look out for each other.(KD)
