FSSAI develops rapid test kit to detect adulterated milk, oil

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Monday said that it has developed a rapid test kit to check quality of milk and edible oils.

"We have started developing variety of rapid test kits for variety of products. But the focus is on milk product and edible oil. We are looking for potential investors and entrepreneurs for bulk production," FSSAI Chairman Ashish Bahuguna told media after a meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council here.

One test kit cannot be used for all products and it poses a challenge, he said.

"We are trying to distinguish between safety and substandard. A product can be substandard without impacting the health," Bahuguna said, noting that milk adulteration was more in North India compared to that in South India.

Since the previous survey to check adulteration threw up surprising results, the government will hold another set of survey in summer when "reportedly mid-term inflation is on peak because production is lower".

After getting the reports, the government will decide a strategy and focus on hotspots.

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan urged the FSSAI to come up with test kits for Rs 10-12 for customers to use it to check adulteration.

Bahuguna said that a company in West Bengal had manufactured an edible oil vending machine, which can be used for buying small quantity.