Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibited the use of synthetic food colours in prepared or ready-to-eat food items, citing serious health risks.
In a public notice issued by the Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration, Drugs & Food Control Organisation, J&K, Civil Secretariat, J&K the department said recent analytical reports from the National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, found that samples of kebab, biryani, pickles and chicken tikka were unsafe due to the presence of synthetic colours like carmoisine, tartrazine and erythrosine.
“In terms of Regulation 3.1.2 and Appendix A of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, use of synthetic food colours is prohibited in prepared food items such as Wazwan, Biryani, pickles, and other meat-based preparations (ready-to-eat). The presence of such prohibited synthetic colours poses a serious risk to public health,” reads the public notice.
The notice added that violations were punishable under Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with imprisonment of up to three months and fines up to Rs 3 lakh.
The department has advised all Food Business Operators (FBOs) engaged in manufacturing, preparing, processing, selling, or serving ready-to-eat food, especially meat-based products, to strictly avoid using synthetic food colours.
The Commissioner of the FDA, through the notice, has urged cooperation from all stakeholders “to ensure that only safe, wholesome food reaches the consumer.”