New Delhi : State/UT governments have been requested by the Department of Health and Family Welfare to finalise state-wide Action Plan to draw and test samples of milk products at regular intervals, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Stating this in a written reply, Health Minister J P Nadda said in cases where samples of milk were found to be not conforming to the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the rules and regulations made there under, penal action is initiated against the offender.
The Act provides for graded penalties including life imprisonment.
However, implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 ''primarily rests with State/UT governments,'' he added.
“Random samples of food items are drawn by the State Food Safety Officers and are sent to the laboratories recognised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for analysis,” the Minister said.
Referring to a nationwide survey conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)on milk adulteration in 2011 through its five regional offices wherein as much as 68.4 per cent of milk samples were found to be ''non-conforming'' to prescribed standards with 5.75 per cent found to be adulterated with detergents.
“A total of 103 samples (5.75 per cent) were found to be adulterated with detergents,” the Minister said.
A total of 1,791 samples were drawn from 33 states and were tested in the government laboratories.
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