However in over 95% cases, the substandard milk was not found unsafe for human consumption, but only lacked in standards of fat and 'solids not fat' (SNF) as set by the law. Simply put together, it means that significant amount of milk in the state continues to being adulterated using water — an age-old method employed by people to make quick money.
Between April 1, 2016 and January 25, 2017, food safety officials drew 1,392 samples of milk from suppliers, dairies, distributors and vendors from the state's seven administrative divisions, including Pune and Nashik. Among them, the laboratory report of 731 samples is still awaited.
Of the 661 samples tested at designated laboratories, 482 conformed to the standards while 179 samples (27%) were found to be of substandard quality.
"Among these 179 substandard samples, the Nashik division reported the highest 59 while the Pune division stayed a close second with 46. The samples didn't conform to standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)," Chandrashekhar Salunke, joint commissioner (headquarters), state FDA, told TOI.
The samples were taken from milk collection centres, tankers, processing units, local dairies and vendors and tested at notified public health laboratories.
Salunke said barring three samples, two of adulteration with sugar and one of adulteration with sugar with bicarbonate, the rest of the 175 samples were only substandard, but safe for consumption. "This means they lacked in the amount of fat and SNF as set by the law," he added.
The two samples found laced with sugar were drawn from Sangli district and a sample laced with sugar and bicarbonate was drawn from Solpaur district.
When contacted, S S Desai, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune division, said, "We have already initiated legal action against the milk suppliers in Sangli and Solapur where the three samples drawn were found unsafe for human consumption."
Uday Vanjari, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Nashik division, said, "All the samples in Nashik that didn't conform to the standards were low on fat percentage of SNF. We can impose fine up to Rs 5 lakh in such cases."
Among the other divisions, Brihan Mumbai recorded sixteen cases of substandard milk, followed by Konkan (29), Aurangabad (18), Amaravati (5) and Nagpur (6).
The Pune administrative division includes Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur districts while that of Nashik includes Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts.
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