Skimming off your good health

Despite being the world’s largest producer of milk, India struggles with adulteration of milk by unscrupulous traders. A recent study by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India across 33 states has shifted focus on the problem.
There is no proper check system to curb these activitiesThere is only one reason for anti-social elements to get into the business of milk adulteration — to make quick money. They mix other substances, including water, in milk to produce a cheaper alternative. The cost of spurious milk ranges between Rs2 and Rs6 per litre, whereas pure milk costs Rs24 per litre. So, one can get an idea why these anti-social elements indulge in such activities.
Besides, there is no proper check system or strict law to curb these activities. According to the law, mixing anything in milk, even a drop of water, is adulteration. Apart from water, the adulterators use substances like glucose powder, urea, detergent, palmolein oil and sorbitol, to name a few. Some of the chemicals used for adulteration are very toxic, and many of them are carcinogenic, with severe effects on the human body.
—Dr Abhijeet Vaidya, founder-president, Arogya Sena

One can use the RTI to force govt to disclose names of errant dairiesWe are not a part of the ongoing campaign against milk adulteration in the state. We cannot point fingers at anybody without getting the samples tested. Besides, the responsibility to curb such activities lies with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the police.
I think we all have witnessed how some local distributors cut milk packetsand collect it in a blue drum to adulterate it and re-pack it. Adulterators run this racket openly, then why don’t the authorities take any action against them.
If the names of the dairies that are allegedly involved in milk adulteration are not being disclosed by the government, one can use the RTI Act, 2005, to compel the government to do so.

—Dnyanraj Santh, secretary, Grahak Hitvardhini
How can one determine extent of adulteration based on a few samples?
We have heard about the recent study on milk adulteration. The FSSAI has collected some samples from here and there, including Mumbai. Based on lab reports of these samples, they have concluded that 65% of the milk samples from Maharashtra has failed to meet the standards.
How can one determine the extent of milk adulteration in the whole state based on a few samples? The government
cannot disclose the names of the dairies involved, just on these assumptions. It must be proved. As per the new state law, the word ‘adulteration’ is not used anymore. Instead, we use words like sub-standard, unsafe or harmless.
On our part, we do not act hastily on complaints. We raid such centres only when we have concrete evidence.
—Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner, FDA (Food)
Milk is a product easy to adulterate, and many are involved because of the huge profit margins
We, at Katraj Dairy, supply 1.5 lakh litres of milk every day. On a co-operative basis, there are over 900 societies registered with us. We do face problems, no matter how careful we are, but we guarantee that our milk is 100% pure.
Due to the free trade policy, the market is now open to other private milk producers also. In Pune district itself, there are 65 dairies and over 85 milk brands are doing business in the market.
Out of the 10 lakh litres of milk that is supplied in the state, 50% is supplied by dairies in packaged form, and the rest by individual milkmen.
The industry has become huge, but still the state does not have a milk marketing board of its own.
Milk is easy to adulterate and many are involved in this business because of the huge profit margins. On the other hand, the milk industry has reached a crucial stage where it has become very hard for dairies to make enough profits. Just like petrol or sand mafias, there are milk mafias in the state that run these adulteration rackets.
—Vivek Kshirsagar, MD, Katraj Dairy
Adulteration happens at local level, but there is no mechanism to prevent itI completely agree with the FSSAI study, which concludes that 65% of milk samples in the state were found to be contaminated. There is a lot of adulteration happening at the local level, but there is no control mechanism in place to check these illegal activities.
Once the local distributors get their supply of milk from dairies, they become the owners of the milk and can do anything with it.
Mixing water, though illegal, is still not dangerous; but mixing chemicals is like playing with people’s health. It must be curbed by the authorities. The milk adulteration racket goes on, with the FDA and the police doing nothing.
I am originally from Shrirampur. We don’t have many cows there, but lakhs of litres of milk is supplied to other parts of the state from this place. I have observed that the local people in Shrirampur don’t give this milk to their children. Chances of adulteration at lower-level distribution channels are lesser, as compared to the upper level.

—Apurva Deshmukh, proprietor, Govind Distributors