2 out of 3 Indians drink adulterated milk, new kit to detect in 40 seconds

New Delhi: Two out of three Indians drink milk laced with detergent, caustic soda, urea and paint, union minister for science and technology Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

With over 68% of the milk in India found adulterated in a 2011 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) study, the government is working towards providing an accurate, portable test kit for the important staple.

"A new scanner has been developed which can detect adulteration in milk in 40 seconds, and pinpoint the adult rant," Harsh Vardhan said during Question Hour.

Earlier, for every type of adulteration, a separate chemical test was required. But now a single scanner can do the job, he said.

There were murmurs among members when the minister suggested that these scanners could be purchased by MPs through their constituency funds.

Though the scanners are costly as of now, each test costs a mere 10 paisa, he said.

Vardhan said in the near future, GPS-based technology could be used to track the exact location where the milk supplied in the cold chain has been tampered with.

There are two lakh villages in the country from where milk is collected.