Jammu, Aug. 29 -- Ladakh lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has ordered zero tolerance for food safety violations in the Union territory of Ladakh, said officials on Friday. In a sweeping directive aimed at protecting public health, ensuring uncompromising food quality and dealing with violators with an iron hand, the LG has ordered a strict crackdown on food safety violations across Ladakh. Sending a stark warning to nearly 8,800 food business operators (FBOs) in Ladakh, the LG has made it clear that any compromise on hygiene and statutory food standards will be met with heavy penalties - including fines of up to Rs.10 lakh and imprisonment in serious cases. The decisive move comes amid increased administrative focus on public health and sanitation across the country. The circular issued by the UT administration, on LG's directions, makes it mandatory for all food business operators in Ladakh to strictly comply with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. They have been directed to ensure that "the food manufactured, processed, stored, transported, distributed or sold in Ladakh is safe, wholesome and conforms to the prescribed food safety standards." At present, there are 428 FSSAI licence holders and 8,355 FSSAI registration holders in the UT of Ladakh. The food safety department has been directed to ensure that all FBOs maintain continuous compliance with statutory food safety, hygiene, sanitary and FSSAI licensing requirements, and to take stringent action for any such violation, that include ranging from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.10 lakh, while certain violations may also attract imprisonment. All food business operators, including restaurants/hotels/eateries, have been strictly prohibited from manufacturing, storing or selling any food that is "unsafe, sub-standard, misbranded, adulterated, contaminated, or beyond the shelf-life/expiry date."...