Govt’s dilly- dallying has kept milk adulteration alive

The drive against milk adulteration initiated by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) lacks the bite, owing to the government's dilly-dallying against milk dairies indulging in adulteration across the State.

In fact, as per the FDA findings in 2007, nearly 25 per cent milk in the State is adulterated. In all 151 of the total of 866 samples collected from dairies across the State between April 1, 2006 and May 31, 2007 were found to be adulterated. Currently, the state produces daily over 60 lakh litres of milk.

FDA officials here said that most private and government milk dairies are involved in milk adulteration. Some of these dairies are directly involved in adulteration while a few others are linked to the adulteration syndicates operating outside diaries.

The officials further disclosed that chances of synthetic milk one that is highly adulterated with a mixture of water, pulverised detergent, sodium hydroxide, vegetable oil, salt and urea, finding its way into consumers kitchen cannot be ruled out. Also, milk pilfered from sealed packs and sachets of various popular brands which is then watered down and sold in the local market, continues to flourish in Mumbai and other parts of the State.

" Several raids at milk entry points in the city between 2006 and 2007 revealed that the fat content of the milk being brought into the city was far below the prescribed limit," said an official.

Pre- dawn raids in various slum areas of Juhu, Lokhadwala, Kandivli and Bandra helped in the arrest of many a small- time milk adulteration gang most of whom had links with diary authorities and had even initiated action against the senior management.

However, due to political pressure from certain powerful leaders of the ruling and opposition parties, the FDA dropped the move to initiate criminal action against the erring milk dairies senior management.

In fact, one of the senior FDA officials, who had earned the wrought of the ruling party for the crackdown on some of the leading milk diaries in western Maharashtra, among whom suppliers to Mumbai, was unceremoniously moved out from FDA within 15 months of posting. " We had instructed milk diaries to offload the sealed milk sachets at the distribution centres half an hour before the distribution of the milk to the customers commences, daily. However, they refused to comply with the instruction," said the FDA official.