SRINAGAR: Food-safety enforcement in Jammu and Kashmir has recorded a sharp decline in cases filed in 2026-27 compared with the previous financial year, according to official data.
Against 1,211 cases filed in 2025-26, only 309 were filed in 2026-27, according to government data, a fall of nearly 75 per cent. The number of non-conforming food samples also fell from 690 to 359, while inspections dropped from 21,120 to 9,345. Government data, however, show that enforcement against meat and meat products continues, with 1,826 samples lifted in a separate meat inspection drive; of these, 102 cases were compounded and 144 cases decided, with fines of Rs 38.58 lakh imposed.
The Food Safety Department categorises its sampling into enforcement samples and surveillance samples. Enforcement samples are collected when officials are checking suspected or potentially non-compliant food as part of regulatory action, while surveillance samples are collected as part of routine monitoring of food available in the market.
A non-conforming sample is one that, on testing, fails to meet the prescribed food-safety or quality standards. Thus, the 2025-26 figures of 7,001 enforcement samples, 3,443 surveillance samples and 690 non-conforming samples represent different stages/categories of food-safety monitoring and should not automatically be interpreted as 690 violations out of a combined 10,444 samples unless the department confirms that the 690 figure uses that combined denominator.
During 2025-26, food-safety authorities conducted 21,120 inspections across J&K and lifted 7,001 enforcement samples and 3,443 surveillance samples. Of these, 690 samples were found non-conforming. The authorities filed 1,211 cases, while 1,721 cases were decided, including cases carried forward from earlier years. Fines amounting to Rs 1.70 crore were imposed, while 2,733 cases remained pending.
The geographical distribution of enforcement also shows a significant concentration in Jammu. Jammu district recorded 2,997 inspections and 332 cases filed, compared with 1,498 inspections and 130 cases in Srinagar. Anantnag recorded 87 cases, Budgam 47, Pulwama 80 and Kathua 105.
The government specifically reported 154 cases relating to meat and meat products in Kashmir Division during 2025-26. Of these, 120 had been decided and 34 remained pending, with Rs 30.12 lakh in fines imposed.
The corresponding 2026-27 data shows a much smaller enforcement operation so far. Inspections stood at 9,345, enforcement samples at 4,994 and surveillance samples at 2,145. Non-conforming samples numbered 359. Cases filed stood at 309, cases decided at 475 and pending cases at 2,569, with fines of Rs 63.24 lakh imposed.
The year-on-year comparison needs one qualification: 2026-27 is an ongoing financial year, whereas the 2025-26 figures represent a completed financial year. The government data therefore establishes a decline in cases and inspections in the period reported, but does not by itself establish that food adulteration has declined by the same proportion.
The separate updated meat and meat-products inspection statement provides a more specific picture. Authorities reported 1,826 samples lifted, covering about 18,683.5 kg of meat/products. The drive resulted in 102 compounded cases, 144 cases decided, and fines of Rs 38.58 lakh. The figures indicate that meat remained a substantial component of food-safety enforcement even as the overall number of food-safety cases fell.
