The Indian Express: Pune: Sunday, September 24, 2017.
An RTI
application filed by The Indian Express with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)
revealed that milk adulteration continues unabated in Pune, with more than 37
per cent of milk samples failing the FDA’s quality test in the last one year.
BACK in 2007,
Maharashtra had emerged as a major centre for milk adulteration, and 10 years
later, the situation doesn’t seem to have changed much. An RTI application
filed by The Indian Express with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) revealed
that milk adulteration continues unabated in Pune, with more than 37 per cent
of milk samples failing the FDA’s quality test in the last one year.
Last year,
the FDA had collected 142 milk samples for testing, of which 53 failed the
test, revealed the reply to the RTI query. The samples were collected from both
dairies and shops, and results of 17 samples are yet to be received by the
office.
The standard
parameters for testing milk checking for fat content, urea content, presence of
foreign objects and more is listed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI). The local unit of the FDA collects samples to test them
regularly. FSSAI has also laid down certain norms regarding the hygiene of the
collection centres as well as the temperature at which milk has to be pasteurised
and stored. Flavoured milk, paneer and milk powder are also tested and if some
of the samples are found substandard, action is initiated against the dairies
they came from.
In cases
where the milk was found to be substandard, FDA officials have filed cases
before the adjudication officers, and in some cases compounding fees of Rs
10,000 has been levied.
Samples from
popular dairies such as Gokul and Katraj were taken for testing and found to be
consistent with the set standards. Several samples collected from smaller
dairies, which procure milk from unorganised players, failed the quality test.
Of the 2.50 crore litres of milk collected daily in Maharashtra, around 1.25
crore litres is by the organised sector while the rest is from unorganised
players.
The FSSAI has
mandated licensing norms for dairies and most of the organised dairies, both
cooperative and private, have to renew them on an annual basis. Reports about
adulteration in smaller dairies is a matter of concern for Pune residents as
many of them depend on such dairies for their milk supply, and these dairies
also procure milk for larger dairies.
However,
Rajiv Mitra, managing director of the Phaltan-based Govind Milk and Milk
Products, assured that established players have multiple levels of checking,
which help them weed out adulterated milk right at the source. “Other than
fats, solid-not-fat and proteins, we also check for antibiotics and alcohol in
milk. In case the milk is found to contain alcohol or antibiotics, we reject
them at the procurement centre itself,” he said. Mitra claimed that chances of
adulteration at the processing plants of major milk producers were non-existent
due to the quality standards maintained by them.
Consumer
rights activist Sudhakar Velankar, on the other hand, pointed out that most of
the adulteration takes place while the milk is being sold door-to-door and the
samples should be checked “at the sale point rather than at dairies”.
Meanwhile, concerned citizens have called for widening the testing net to
include both organised and unorganised players in the market.
Pune-based
activist Vijay Kumbhar demanded that the names of dairies and milk producers,
which fail the quality test, should be posted online to raise awareness about
the issue. “This was a standard practice earlier, but it has been stopped now,”
he said.