Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a detailed advisory directing strict compliance with scientific and environmentally safe procedures for the disposal of seized, rejected and expired food items, warning against their dumping into rivers, lakes or open land.
In the advisory, issued by Commissioner Food and Drugs Administration Smita Sethi, the department said improper disposal of unsafe food items poses serious public health risks, allows misuse within the supply chain and causes environmental damage. The directive follows recent reports of seized and expired food items being dumped into natural water bodies.
Reiterating provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and guidelines issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the FDA said disposal of seized or rejected food items must strictly adhere to approved procedures under Sections 38(4) and 47(4) of the Act, and subsequent advisories issued by FSSAI, including the one dated November 3, 2025.
The advisory makes it mandatory for all Designated Officers, Food Safety Officers and enforcement teams to ensure that seized, rejected or expired food items, along with their packaging, are not disposed of in rivers, lakes, natural water bodies or open areas under any circumstances.
Approved disposal methods include incineration through authorised facilities compliant with Central Pollution Control Board norms, disposal in designated sanitary landfills with proper leachate control, and composting or anaerobic digestion of biodegradable waste through certified facilities, in coordination with local municipal bodies or panchayats.
The FDA has also laid down strict procedural safeguards. Disposal must be supervised by a Food Safety Officer or an authorised official, carried out under video documentation and in the presence of two independent witnesses. A certificate of disposal must be submitted to the Designated Officer, with copies forwarded to the Commissioner of Food Safety and the concerned Food Business Operator.
Designated Officers have been directed to identify suitable facilities for incineration, composting or other approved disposal methods and share the details with the Commissioner. For high volume disposals, coordination with the State Pollution Control Board has been made mandatory.
To ensure oversight, the advisory requires Designated Officers to submit monthly compliance reports on disposal activities to the Commissioner of Food Safety by the third day of every month, clearly flagging any deviations from the prescribed norms.
The FDA said the measures are aimed at preventing environmental harm, ensuring food safety and maintaining strict regulatory compliance across Jammu and Kashmir.
