The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, has commenced a state-wide campaign against milk adulteration. This was informed by Mahesh Zagade, commissioner (food), Maharashtra.
“Milk adulteration is happening on a daily basis and we are forced to take up a special drive across the state against the illegal producers, packers and distributors of milk,” explained Zagade.
The motive behind the campaign is to obtain zero milk adulteration in Maharashtra by June 30, 2012, so that the consumers could also procure pure milk in return. In this regard, the food safety officers (FSOs) in every region would now look into the aspect closely to look at the rootcause of the problem and work on it at the earliest.
“Our officers had raided around 20,000 litres of adulterated milk in Sangli district and recently in Mumbai (Khar region) of about 450-500 litres of milk,” he said, adding that the findings had been discussed with the FSOs in a meeting.
It has been found that the milk was adulterated with water and caustic soda (a preservative), it was repacked and resold to small dairy spots, and the truck drivers or owners concerned did not possess a licence or registration. Not only this, but also the places where the milk was distributed did not ensure hygienic condition and many a times they were located near drainage.
Further, it was also found that the milk was sold in packets without proper labelling and printing or even sold with no clarity in mentioning the “best before.”
The ones which were meant to be “not to be sold” were also distributed illegally to the sellers and that the rejected milk packets by one of the dairy spots would be purchased by the other in the scenario.
Therefore, the FSO would inspect all the check-nakas of the city and the tankers would now need to produce valid documents for the same. Further, all the distributors of milk should possess the list of those milk suppliers and other details.
Soon a meeting would be called in order to alert the dairy industry with the Rule 26 of the new law. All those spots, which would be identified by the FSOs as places of adulteration, hereafter would destroy the repacked milk. And the manufacturers shall now possess the list of all the details of the FSOs of their respective regions in case of emergency.
Further, the FSOs would now take up routine inspection of milk in every region, twice a month.
“Milk adulteration is happening on a daily basis and we are forced to take up a special drive across the state against the illegal producers, packers and distributors of milk,” explained Zagade.
The motive behind the campaign is to obtain zero milk adulteration in Maharashtra by June 30, 2012, so that the consumers could also procure pure milk in return. In this regard, the food safety officers (FSOs) in every region would now look into the aspect closely to look at the rootcause of the problem and work on it at the earliest.
“Our officers had raided around 20,000 litres of adulterated milk in Sangli district and recently in Mumbai (Khar region) of about 450-500 litres of milk,” he said, adding that the findings had been discussed with the FSOs in a meeting.
It has been found that the milk was adulterated with water and caustic soda (a preservative), it was repacked and resold to small dairy spots, and the truck drivers or owners concerned did not possess a licence or registration. Not only this, but also the places where the milk was distributed did not ensure hygienic condition and many a times they were located near drainage.
Further, it was also found that the milk was sold in packets without proper labelling and printing or even sold with no clarity in mentioning the “best before.”
The ones which were meant to be “not to be sold” were also distributed illegally to the sellers and that the rejected milk packets by one of the dairy spots would be purchased by the other in the scenario.
Therefore, the FSO would inspect all the check-nakas of the city and the tankers would now need to produce valid documents for the same. Further, all the distributors of milk should possess the list of those milk suppliers and other details.
Soon a meeting would be called in order to alert the dairy industry with the Rule 26 of the new law. All those spots, which would be identified by the FSOs as places of adulteration, hereafter would destroy the repacked milk. And the manufacturers shall now possess the list of all the details of the FSOs of their respective regions in case of emergency.
Further, the FSOs would now take up routine inspection of milk in every region, twice a month.
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