LUDHIANA: The glass of milk that you consider to be the epitome of nutrition and good health may not be all that pure. In fact it can be harmful when mixed with adulterants like unhygienic water, detergent, urea and soda; and cause abdominal and intestinal diseases.
In Ludhiana, out of 1,900 samples collected by Dairy Development Board in 47 camps organized in municipal corporation wards, more than 50% have failed purity test and are found to have 40-60% contamination or adulteration, mostly water.
Dairy Development Board deputy director Dilbagh Singh said, We organized camps in all 47 wards of city and collected 1,900 milk samples. Out of these, around 1,000 samples failed the purity test, and were found to be adulterated with water. This water could have been taken from the tap or elsewhere and in most probability from unhygienic sources.
Experts say pure milk should not have any water, but the failed samples in Ludhiana had 40-60% water content.
Dilbagh explained that there are around 13 solid contents in pure milk 4.5% fat, 8.5% solid non fat with 3.5% protein, 4.9% lactose and .8% minerals. Around 83-87% is natural fluid. In adulterated milk, most of the times the total solid content is only around 3-4% and the fluid content goes up to 92-93%, added Dilbagh.
According to the Food Safety and Standard Act, food items are examined in three categories, including sub-standard, mixed-branding and contaminated-unsafe.
Food safety officer Ravinder Garg said, a??Adulterated milk comes under sub-standard category and if any vendor is found selling adulterated milk he is liable to face a penalty up to Rs 3 lakh. In case of mixed branding category, if a seller does not have correct information about the contents of the food item he can be penalized up to Rs 2 lakh, while in case of contaminated unsafe food items, which can be life threatening, seller, can face life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 50 lakh, he added.
We have filed cases for prosecution of the defaulters with the competent authority and are awaiting the verdicts, said Ravinder.
Meanwhile, doctors warn consumers against using a??substandard milk and say the safer bet is to go for products that are certified for quality. There is a better chance of getting quality product if one buys packaged milk, say experts.
Dr Amit Berry, an assistant professor of medicine at DMCH, said, Dilution can take away the nutritive value of milk and can pose serious health risks. When contaminated water is added to milk it can cause gastro-intestinal problems like gastritis, vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea. The best bet is to go in for certified products. In case of kids below one year, intake of adulterated milk can cause stunted growth, warns Dr Naveen Bajaj, neonatologist at Deep Hospital. He said, a??Infants can risk stunted growth if given adulterated milk, while in elder children contaminated milk causes a host of problems like dirrahoea, fever, vomiting and sometimes typhoid.
Time to wake up
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reports that milk adulterant have hazardous health effects. The detergent in milk can cause food poisoning and other gastrointestinal complications. Its high alkaline level can also damage body tissue and destroy proteins. Other synthetic components can cause impairments, heart problems, cancer or even death. While the immediate effect of drinking milk adulterated with urea, caustic soda and formalin is gastroenteritis, the long-term effects are far more serious, reports ICMR. Doctors warn that urea, an adulterant in milk, can cause nausea, gastritis and vomiting. Urea is harmful especially for the kidneys whereas adulterant like caustic soda can be dangerous for hypertension and heart diseases patients, pine experts. Meanwhile, Formalin, which is also one of the common adulterant in milk, can cause severe liver damage. The chemical which contains sodium, can act as a slow poison for the patients suffering from hypertension and heart diseases, warn doctors.
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