MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Food Authority issued a directive on April 10, 2025, requiring food business workers in Muzaffarabad and Jhelum Valley to undergo medical tests within ten days to ensure food safety.
The Azad Kashmir Food Authority now demands regular medical tests from everyone who operates in food services throughout Azad Jammu and Kashmir to enhance regional food quality standards.
The District Food Controller and Food Safety Officer, Muzaffarabad and Jhelum Valley has issued a notification through which the AJK Food Authority Act 2017 mandates medical checks for staff working in the food industry especially those in fast food and hotel sectors and bakeries as well as production facilities. This includes all workers involved in food preparation, packaging, or serving.
The notification emphasises that this step is essential to ensure strict adherence to food safety principles. It places direct responsibility on food business operators to get their employees medically tested and submit their reports to the district office within ten days of the notice.
Required medical tests by Azad Kashmir Food Authority
1. Typhoid screening
2. Hepatitis B test
3. Hepatitis C test
4. Examination for skin diseases
5. Screening for contagious and communicable disease
The directive serves as a reminder to all food business owners to comply without delay. It clearly states that failure to submit the required medical reports within the specified time will result in legal action against the concerned business operators.
Officials have made it clear that this initiative is part of the broader effort to enhance food safety and public health standards throughout AJK. Food Authority works to reduce consumer health risks through procedures that prevent infectious diseases among food handlers.
The document has been sent to the applicable departments for monitoring with strict oversight. The Food Authority of Muzaffarabad and Jhelum Valley asks all food operators to act speedily upon this order to prevent penalties and build safer food-handling practices within the area.
