Jan 21, 2012

Authorities raid milk sellers, collect samples

JAIPUR: A day after the Rajasthan High Court directed the state government on milk adulteration issue, the Jaipur district administration began raiding milk sellers on Friday. Various newspapers had published a survey report by Food Safety Standards Authority of India that showed 76% of milk in Rajasthan is adulterated.

Mobile laboratories tested about 20 samples of milk in Sanganer and Mansarovar and found 19 to be adulterated with 50% water, a district administration official said. Besides, this, the department collected five more samples and sent them for testing.

The presence of toxic chemicals in adulterated milk could hamper brain development among infants, the doctors claimed. The report of Food Safety Standards Authority of India survey shows that the samples of milk contained chemical substances like urea and detergents. These substances are dangerous for infants.

JK Lon Hospital superintendent Dr SD Sharma said, "Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential for brain development. If the milk is adulterated then there are possibilities that the infant will not get DHA. Because of that the development of brain in the infant could be halted. The intelligence quotient among such children would not be as much as in a normal child. In some cases, it could also lead to mental retardation because major development of the brain takes place up to one-and-a-half years."

He said, "The parents give milk to make their children healthy but if the milk is not safe, then it could have adverse effects on health."

The doctors also appealed to the mothers to breastfeed their children. Various studies and researches in the recent past were conducted and held mother's milk as essential for the growth of the baby, which also keeps them safe from consuming adulterated milk.

Gastroenterologist Dr Abhinav Sharma said, "Patients come to me with complaints of gastroenteritis, acute pain abdomen, vomiting, feeling of bloating and sometimes bleeding ulcers. These are all common symptoms caused by consumption of adulterated milk."

The doctors also appealed to the people to check the milk they are consuming as it could lead to serious health problems.

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