No formal intimation has been received regarding adulteration of any major brand of packaged milk in the recent past, Government today told the Rajya Sabha even as it listed out a number of measures to check the sale of spurious milk across the country.
"The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has informed that it has not received any formal intimation regarding adulteration of any major brand of packaged milk in recent past," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Shripad Yesso Naik said.
He was responding to a question whether recently some top brands of packaged milk have been found to be adulterated and steps being taken by the government to check packaged milk adulteration.
Naik said the government has launched a pilot project in three states to check spurious milk by providing them an advanced machine, which can check 90 to 100 samples per hour.
"This machine has so far been given only to three states (Delhi, UP and Chandigarh) on pilot basis. If it gives good result, we will consider to give it to all states," the minister said.
He was apparently referring to the Advanced Electronic Milk Adulteration Tester (EMAT), which can test fat, protein content, SNF (solid not fat), water content, presence of glucose and electrodes in milk.
"Under the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006, the responsibility of FSSAI mainly concerns laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availablity of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
"The implementation of enforcement of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and regulations thereunder primarily rests with the state and union territory governments," he said.
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Naik said that the FSSAI regularly takes up the issue of enforcement of provisions of the Act and regulations thereunder the state/UT authorities.
"A surveillance plan for states has been prepared by a Working Group of Food Safety Commissioners taking into account various parameters including consumption pattern for cultural and festival occassions," the minister said.
In order to pay focussed attention to the adulteration of milk and milk products, a special cell has been created in the FSSAI, he said.
He informed the House that the FSSAI has recently organized an interface between wholesale consumers of milk and producers of milk products.
"In pursuance of such initiatives, FSSAI in April this year distributed EMAT to three states---Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh on pilot basis," Naik said.
The minister also told the House that Secretary of Health Department had on February 13 written to Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories requesting them to issue instructions to administrative and police authorities to extend all cooperation to the food safety authorities in carrying out surveillance activities to check food adulteration and manufacture or sale of substandard food items.
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