The Supreme Court in a judgment passed today has suggested the Centre and states to take effective steps to control adulteration of milk. Disposing of a writ petition seeking direction to the Centre and states in this regard, the apex court issued several directions.
Considering the seriousness of the matter and in the light of various orders passed by it, the Supreme Court directed the Centre and the state governments to take appropriate steps to implement Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 in a more effective manner.
It asked the states to take appropriate steps to inform owners of dairy, dairy operators and retailers working in the state that if chemical adulterants like pesticides, caustic soda and other chemicals are found in the milk, then stringent action would be taken on the state dairy operators or retailers or all the persons involved in adulteration.
The apex court also asked the state food safety authorities to identify high risk areas, where there is greater presence of petty food manufacturer, business operator and the likes, and the occasions, for instance when festivals draw close. There is a risk of ingesting adulterated milk or milk products due to environmental and other factors and greater number of food samples should be taken from those areas, the court said.
It asked the state food safety authorities to ensure that there is adequate lab testing infrastructure and ensure that all labs have or they obtain National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accreditation to facilitate precise testing. The state governments have been asked to ensure that the state food testing laboratories and district food laboratories are well-equipped with the technical persons and testing facilities.
×The Supreme Court has directed taking of special measures by the state food safety authorities (SFSA) and district authorities for sampling of milk and milk products, including spot testing through mobile food testing vans equipped with primary testing kits for conducting qualitative test of adulteration in food.
It said since the snap short survey conducted in 2011 revealed adulteration of milk by hazardous substances including chemicals, such snap short surveys to be conducted periodically both in the state as well as at the national level by FSSAI.
For curbing milk adulteration, an appropriate state level committee headed by the chief secretary or the secretary of the dairy department and district level committee headed by the concerned district collector have been directed to be constituted. The court cited the example of Maharashtra to take the review of the work done to curb the milk adulteration in the district and in the state by the authorities.
The apex court has asked the concerned state department to set up a website specifying the functioning and responsibilities of food safety authorities and also creating awareness about complaint mechanisms. In the website, the contact details of the joint commissioners, including the food safety commissioners should be made available for registering the complaints on the website. All states should also have and maintain toll-free telephonic and online complaint mechanism, it said.
In order to increase consumer awareness about ill effects of milk adulteration as stipulated in Section 18(1)(f), the states, food authorities and commissioners of food safety have been directed to inform the general public of the nature of risk to health and create awareness of food safety and standards.
They have also been asked educate the school children by conducting workshops and teaching them easy methods for detection of common adulterants in food, keeping in mind indigenous technological innovations (such as milk adulteration detection strips)
Finally, the Supreme Court directed the Centre and the state governments to evolve a complaint mechanism for checking corruption and other unethical practices of the food authorities and their officers.
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