KARGIL, APRIL 18, 2021: Around 20 tons of outdated frozen chicken has been seized in Ladakh in the month of March and April, said food safety officer, Mr Naeem Ahmad Lone.

The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Leh Sonam Chos said to Voice of Ladakh correspondent that the seized chicken will be dumped or fed to dogs in a couple of days.

On 25 March 2021, 7392 kg of frozen chicken were seized from cold storage of Cooperative Department in Agling Leh. The chicken was owned by Ujas Sales, Hakikat Madan, Yamuna Nagar Haryana. In April around 10 tons of chicken were seized from Industrial Area near Airport Road Leh that was also owned by the same firm.

The firm was fined with an amount of Rs 50,000. Another dealer was also fined with Rs 10,000 and around 30-40 kg of Chicken was destroyed. The officer counted many other cases of sub standard, mis brand or unsafe chicken.

One of the employee of the above said firm in Leh said that the above mentioned chicken was earlier stored in Kargil that was shifted to Leh where it was seized by the authorities. He further said that the chicken is not contaminated but the authorities didn’t allowed to sell it in market as fresh chicken had began to reach in market via cargo.

Later, the employee said that the authorities didn’t allowed the seized chicken to sell in market as the product is packed in white polythene despite of proper packaging. The food safety officer said that the said chicken is outdated.

The food safety regulatory body is continuously regulating and Monitoring the market. The regulatory body has seized a cold storage in Kargil also on the suspicion of having contaminated chicken. However, the owner of the freezer who is currently at his home in Kashmir said that the storage is empty.

The food safety officer in Leh Naeem Ahmad Lone said that frozen chicken are valid for one year and fresh chicken are good to eat for three days after slaughter. However, in few cases of overdate, some dealers use vinegar over contaminated chicken to free it from bad smelling and sell in market with new fake extended date.

After bifurcation from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir there is no microbial or sample testing center in Ladakh to check the quality. Earlier, the quality was checked in either Srinagar or Jammu than the product was allowed to transport to the then region of Ladakh.

Another dealer of Chicken in Leh named Tahir said that the Ujas Slaes is one of the largest supplier of frozen chicken in Ladakh. The employee of the said firm said that they have their own manufacturing plant in Haryana, thus their products are well packed, upto standard and properly sealed. They mostly deals in frozen chicken. Many other middleman and retailers are dependent on the firm to fulfill their demands.

However, nowadays, many other distributors get “fresh chicken” supply from Ghazipur Mandi in Delhi. One of the distributors said that the chicken reach within a day to Ladakh after slaughter. He further admitted that the chicken doesn’t carry any mark of authenticity, quality or halal.

Reflecting on this the Food Safety Officer said that the authorities have allowed the “fresh chicken” to sell in market as public prefer it over the frozen chicken. However, as per norms it is not allowed to sell in market. In absence of any testing laboratory it is hard for the regulatory body to check the quality and freshness.

The issue of Sub standard or mis brand chicken remains an issue in Leh district through out the year as slaughter is not allowed here. Frozen chicken is consumed in Kargil district also in winter season as the supply of meat and live fresh poultry halts due to closure of Zojila Pass.

The frozen chicken takes 6-7 days via road to reach Leh from its manufacturing plant in Delhi or Haryana.