‘Milk in city, capital unadulterated’

All the 450 samples taken by the Gujarat government in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar using an instant kit have tested negative for milk adulteration. The tests were conducted by Gujarat Food and Drugs Controller Authority (GFDCA) on Thursday and Friday. More tests will be carried out on 2,500 samples sent from across the state at six laboratories.

However, what is startling is a central report published a couple of days ago that stated 89 per cent of samples collected from Gujarat were adulterated with harmful chemicals like detergent, fat and even urea, besides the age-old dilution with water. The survey was conducted by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) across 33 states.

Either the methods adopted by one of the agencies are suspect or one of the agencies involved is not above board. Otherwise, how do you explain the huge difference in the results by central and state agencies that tested milk for adulteration.

When asked about the huge disparity in results between the central and state agencies, Commissioner of Food Safety Dr H G Koshia said, “Standards were not maintained by the central agency. Every milch animal is different and their fat content is different, so their testing should also be different. This was not considered.”

Free kits for testing

However, Gujarat Laboratory CEO Hasmukh Amin begs to differ. Amin, the head of the only lab in the state with certification by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, said, “The sample survey carried out by the Centre is accurate in many respects. Because in milk, 16 to 18 per cent adulteration is seen in different ways. Especially when milk sold loose or through small dairies, the possibility of adulteration is maximum.”

Dr Koshia said in the past one year they had found 12 samples that contained synthetic milk, urea, vegetable fat, starch and sodium bicarbonate. “People who buy loose milk should be aware of the adulteration. The sellers add urea, that acts as a preservative, to the milk,” he said, adding that GFDCA provides free kits for testing.

Amin said that there are various tests to verify adulteration in milk that include, for pesticide, urea, heavy metal, bacterial test, besides commercial cheating where water, glucose, milk powder, chemicals and detergents are mixed. The test charges range from Rs 100 to 20,000.

Growing dairy industry

Agriculture Minister Dileep Sanghani revealed statistics of the growing dairy industry in the state. Sanghani said, “Dairy industry is well-established in the state and has been considered as a model for other states. There are 15 co-operative dairy plants in the state with handling capacity of 113 lakh litres of milk per day. Against this, the milk received in co-operative plants was 94.11 lakh litres per day in 2009-10. There are also 25 private dairy plants and 13,761 co-operative societies in the state.”