Is the Milk You're Drinking Safe? 4 Easy Ways to Spot Adulteration

"Food adulteration is an act of intentionally debasing the quality of food ordered for sale, either by the admixture or substitution of inferior substances or by the removal of some valuable ingredients." - Food Security & Standards Association of India (FSSAI).

Science and Technology Minister Mr. Harsh Vardhan's recent comment on adulterated milk raked up an atmosphere of anxiety not only within the chambers of Lok Sabha but in the drawing rooms of Indians across the country. It is a daunting thought, that over 68% of the milk in India fails to meet the recommended quality standards. Not only is milk one of the most important ingredients for children's overall development, it is essential for adult health as well. Apart from nutritional purposes, it is also the most widely used item, indesserts, food preparations, baking and not to mention beverages like chai and coffee.

Mr. Harsh Vardhan spoke about various contaminants found in milk when tested across the country. Most of the commonly ones would include detergent, white paint, caustic soda, refined oil and glucose. This has once again led to questioning the efficacy of the central food regulator. Last year in July, the food watchdog, FSSAI announced putting a cap on Melamine content in milk and milk products sold across the country.

Milk Adulteration

Melamine

According to the World Health Oraganisation, "Melamine is an organic base chemical most commonly found in the form of white crystals rich in nitrogen and is widely used in plastics, adhesives, countertops, dishware, and whiteboards. Companies using the milk for further production (e.g. of powdered infant formula) normally check the protein level through a test measuring nitrogen content. The addition of melamine increases the nitrogen content of the milk and therefore its apparent protein content."

United Nation's food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission mentions the maximum limit of melamine content in powdered infant formula as 1 mg per kg and for other foods and animal feed as 2.5 mg per kg.

In a notification published last year, the FSSAI proposed imposing a permissible limit of 1 mg of melamine in every kg of powdered infant formula, 0.15 mg per kg in liquid infant formula and 2.5 mg per kg in other foods. 

E. Coli

Experts believe that bacteria like E.coli - essentially found in cow's waste - can easily mix with milk. If cows are not cleaned properly, the remnants of waste can make its way to the freshly collected milk. The bacteria can then multiply and can cause serious harm if one consumes the same milk.

The National Survey on Milk Adulteration 2011

The survey was conducted by the FSSAI to check for the contaminating agents in milk. It was found that in most cases the contamination happened at the procurement, packing & packaging stage. Lack of hygiene and sanitation during the overall process was another factor. Contaminants such as detergent, glucose, starch, urea and formaline also seemed to have found their way into the final product in most samples. According to the report published on the official website of Centre for Science and Environment, the adulterants used are usually for the purpose enhancing the volume, thickness, consistency and viscosity of milk and to increase the shelf life of the final product.

"Samples were collected from 28 states and five union territories. The worst performers were Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Mizoram, Jharkhand and Daman & Diu, where non-conformity with food safety standards was 100 per cent. There are nearly 70 per cent samples which have not conformed to the standards set for milk. Samples collected from rural areas fared better with only 30 per cent non-compliance as compared to urban centres. Water turned out to be the most common adulterant in milk. About eight per cent samples were found to have detergents," as published on the CSE website.

Water as an Adulterant

According to Mr. Amit Khurana, programme manager, food safety and toxins, CSE, E. coli and other bacteria that contaminate milk can mostly be countered by ensuring proper sanitation and hygiene at all processing stages as well as by boiling and pasteurizing milk properly. In case of addition of water, it is bound to lead many microbiological issues tied with the inclusion of unsafe water in human system. "The key would be to know the nature of adulteration. Best to my knowledge, most adulteration found in the FSSAI 2011 survey was with respect to water," he shared

"What we should be concerned about about is the intentional addition of artificial agents and adulterate milk. Mixing water in milk is a common practice by the local doodhwallahs. Having harmful elements - urea, carbonates and bicarbonates, salt, sugar, hydrogen peroxide, neutralizers (NaHCO3 , Na2 CO3 , NaOH, Ca(OH)2 etc.), sodium chloride, etc. added to our everyday drink is completely unacceptable. You cannot have synthetic milk, the regulators need to come down on such an issue by all means," he added.

Your Food is Adulterated When...

According to FSSAI if a food article is tampered in one or multiple ways listed below, it stands contaminated and adulterated, therefore unfit for consumption:

- A substance is added which depreciates or injuriously affects it

- Cheaper or inferior substances are substituted wholly or in part

- Any valuable or necessary constituent has been wholly or in part abstracted

- It is an imitation

- It is coloured or otherwise treated, to improve its appearance or if it contains any added substance injurious to health.

- For whatever reason its quality is substandard

How to Spot Adulterated Milk:

The central food regulator also gives out guidelines on how can one check for adulterants and contaminants in milk. We are sharing a few of them below:

Water - Put a drop of milk on a polished slanting surface, if it flows slowly, leaving behind a white trail, it is fine. If it flows swiftly without leaving a trail, it is adulterated with water.

Starch - Adding a few drops of iodine tincture or iodine solution will help spot starch in milk - the liquid will turn blue on presence of starch.

Detergent - Spotting it is a cake-walk. Take a bottle of milk and shake it, if it lathers up, it contains detergent.

Other Contaminants (detergent, urea, white paint, etc.) - Look for a bitter aftertaste. Once you rub some drops of milk in-between your fingers, adulterated milk will give you a soapy texture. Adulterated milk will turn yellowish on boiling.

Expert Advice

"Many chemicals and artificial agents are added to increase the shelf life of milk. Hydrogen paraoxide and formaline are a couple of them. These can be extremely injurious to human health. Nitrogenous compounds are added to artificially enhance the taste of protein in milk. The consistency or thickness of milk is another area, starch is an agent used to add thickness to the otherwise watered-down milk," shared Mr. Ramakant Sahu, CSE pollution monitoring lab.

"One really can't do anything when it comes to the packed pasteurized milk. Such products undergo a series of processes and it is hard to trace the point of adulteration. Other factors that come into play would include the way the animal is kept; the sanitation and hygiene levels while milk procurement, quality of fodder given to the animal and so on. If you source milk from the local dairies, make sure to give them a visit and see the quality of the product and condition of the animal yourself. Go for the trusted ones which have been in business since long," shared nutritionist and weight management specialist, Dr. Anshul Jaibharat.

Steps You Can Take at Home:

Dr. Jaibharat calls for a stringent processing policy for the processing, packaging and distribution of milk and other edible items. She also pointed out the fact that adding water to milk has been in practice since ages to meet the excessive demand especially during certain seasons - when young calves need milk, the supply goes down automatically. The best would be to research and keep an eye. Visit your dairy periodically and keep a strict watch. Make sure you boil the milk on slow flame till boiling point. Avoid re-boiling milk as it brings down the nutritional value of milk.

Recently in the parliament, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan talked about a new scanner which can detect milk adulteration in 40 seconds with an ability to detect the exact adulterant.

"If the new scanner or any similar technology can help solve the issue, it is welcomed. Now is the time for proper and stringent implementation of basic regulatory practices and norms - it is the time to act," concluded Mr. Khurana.

If Mr. Harsh Vardhan is to be believed, who knows, the future might have a GPS-based technology that could be used to track the exact location where the milk supplied in the cold chain has been tampered with. In the meanwhile, what seems practical is to curb the adulterating practices and prevent further damage, rather than planning for remedial measures.

Now, safe and hygienic street food

Street food has become an integral part of life in many cities, including Mysuru.

Street vendors will get an apron, gloves, caps, sanitizers and an information booklet at a workshop

The Mysuru-based Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) is lending a helping hand for making street food in the country’s cleanest city safe and hygienic.

With street food being an integral part of urban lifestyle, CFTRI, as part of its outreach programme, has joined hands with the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) and the Mysuru Street Vendors’ Association and formulated a unique programme for the benefit of both street vendors and consumers in the city.

Despite ensuring tasty, affordable and diverse food to consumers, street food vendors are often unaware of the best hygienic practices. The challenges for the policy-makers are to ensure that street food vendors maintain quality and hygiene of the food delivered to consumers, CFTRI said.

Initially, a study was undertaken by the AcSIR (Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research) doctoral students of CSIR-CFTRI to assess the hygiene amongst street food vendors in Mysuru.

Inputs from around 200 street food vendors along with consumers were gathered using a questionnaire.

The findings, along with the best practices for hygienic, safe food, will be presented at a workshop on ‘Ensuring Safe Street Food in India’s Cleanest City’ on Thursday at the institute. C.G. Betsurmath, Commissioner, MCC, will inaugurate the workshop. Ram Rajasekharan, director, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru, will preside.

The participants, around 100 of them, will be provided with a basic kit consisting of apron, gloves, caps, sanitizers along with a relevant information booklet, CFTRI said in a release. The workshop aims to shed light on issues such as the common problems faced by street vendors, maintenance of hygiene in and around vending spots, empowering street vendors with basic knowledge about food safety and so on.

Prof. Ram Rajasekharan said CSIR-CFTRI would like to impart its scientific knowledge and expertise for ensuring clean, safe, nutritious and affordable street food in Mysuru by creating awareness and disseminating basic and essential knowledge to street vendors, making them responsible food handlers, especially in the context of the city having been declared as the cleanest city in India for the second straight time.

Tough Stance Against Unhygienic Eateries

Raid being conducted at a wayside eatery

KOCHI: With several complaints against wayside eateries being reported in the district, the food safety department has decided to take a tough stance against those eateries which sell food in unhygienic conditions.

The shops which sell stale food and are making use of re-used oil, unhygienic pots, polluted water will come under the scanner.

As part of beefing up the drive, the department on Tuesday conducted raids in 23 eateries at Ernakulam south, Pallimukku and Ernakulam North. Besides closing six eateries, the officials also issued notice to eight eateries which failed to adhere to the hygiene norms. “The raid was conducted in the wake of complaints that wayside eateries in the city were functioning in unhygienic conditions. We will continue the crackdown in the coming days. Juice centres and wayside food stalls will also be brought under scanner. Since we are receiving complaints of adulterated food, we have also taken the samples of curry powders and coconut oil from several shops. Action will be taken only after getting the reports,” said Food Safety Assistant Commissioner K V Shibu.

Meanwhile, the department has also started raiding ice-canteens which run by local business men and migrant labours.

“Based on the tip off we have inspected 12 such ice canteens at Aluva on Wednesday. Raids have also been conducted on the houses of migrant workers but it is learnt that they are taking the ice from plants for making juice and other cola items. The ice samples from the factory have also been taken for checking,” added K V Shibu.

Meanwhile, the Kochi Corporation is also planning to conduct such raids in the city. “ At present we have issued license to as many as 374 way side eateries. Last month, we have started 36 women run kiosks. Only licensed eateries that comply to our food safety norms will be allowed to function,” said Minimol V K, Health Committee Chairperson.

A few pointers on sleep

• Six way side eateries near south railway station were ordered shut on Tuesday.
• Eight show case notices were issued.
• On Wednesday, a tea shop in front of Aluva railway station was asked to close down.
• Stale food, unhygienic conditions, re-used oil, unhygienic pots, no proper cleaning and polluted water will come under the scanner.

Food safety officials inspect ice factories, tea stalls

The officials check iced drinks on sale near schools in Aluva and in rural areas.

Food safety officials in the district on Wednesday conducted inspections at various places in Aluva, including the houses of migrant workers, following complaints that unhygienic ice was coming into the market.

The officials particularly checked the iced drinks on sale near schools and in the rural areas.

Samples collected

They visited 13 sites and collected samples from one ice manufacturing unit. Though complaints regarding unhygienic ice manufacturing units at the homes of migrant workers were received, the officials did not find any evidence. The workers told the officials that they buy the ice from manufacturing units and sell it.

The officials also checked packaged drinks. Samples were collected from two manufacturers to check quality of water and other cool drinks that reach the stores.

A squad also raided the open wayside eateries around the Aluva railway stations. One tea stall was given a closure notice unless steps are taken to improve the hygiene.

The officials gave directions to follow food safety steps and held awareness classes for tea sellers and fruit juice shop owners to imbibe the hygiene and food safety culture so that chances of food and water contaminations are totally avoided.

Officials inspect fair price shop over sale of ‘plastic’ rice

Following complaints of the sale China-imported ‘plastic’ rice, Food and Civil Supplies Department officials have seized rice samples from a fair price shops in Keelara in Mandya district.

Officials of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies inspected a fair price shop at Keelara in the taluk on Tuesday evening following complaints that China-imported ‘plastic’ rice was being sold to the card holders.

Chandru, a resident of Keelara, had raised the issue during the Grama Sabha on Tuesday morning. According to Mr. Chandru and a few others, plastic rice was being sold in Keelara through the public distribution system from the fair price shop.

Subsequently, K.S. Ramesh, president, Keelara Grama Panchayat, and others, had requested the department to check the rice.

Not plastic rice

“It was not plastic rice,” says Kumuda Sharath, Deputy Director, Department of Food and Civil Supplies. Speaking to The Hindu here, she said that the officials had visited the shop, collected samples and also interacted with the card holders to learn about the quality of the rice sold. Food inspectors have drawn samples from the fair price shop. The samples will be sent to the government laboratory to check the quality of the rice, she said. “We will also request the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to check the samples,” Ms. Sharath said.

The collected samples will be sent to the govt. laboratory for checking

Bananas sweeter in city, not safe

At a time, when people rely heavily on fruits and salads to beat the summer heat, the artificial ripening of fruits witnessed at the Koyambedu wholesale market points to serious lapses in enforcement of food safety norms in the state

A vendor at Koyambedu market sprays ethylene to ripen bananas artificially 

Chennai: 

As the mango season is just around the corner, instances of malpractices involving artificial ripening of fruits are expected to rise. Already doctors in the city have begun issuing warnings that commonly consumed fruits like banana, guava, apple and chikku are being artificially ripened, and that customers should exercise caution before buying. 

A source revealed that even neighbourhood petty shops and small vendors urge wholesalers to speedily ripen the fruits by all means necessary – including the spraying of harmful chemical solutions. This reporter tried purchasing a dozen, partially ripe bananas in Koyambedu market, which is run by CMDA. 

The trader used a canister to spray the bananas, saying, “The fruits would be ready for consumption by next morning.” Many shopkeepers in the fruit-vendors’ area in the complex were spotted with the bottles of this spray inside their shops. The failure of officials to conduct frequent raids and apprehend such violators seems to have given such vendors a free run, a source said. 

Kumar Jayant, Commissioner of Food Safety, Tamil Nadu (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) told DTNext that raids were taking place at regular intervals. “We will keep up our vigil and confiscate and destroy such fruits, after which action will be taken against the traders,” he stressed. 

HAZARD ZONE

• Ethylene gas is the most commonly used ripening agent
• Doctors say artificially ripened fruits contain lower value and can cause allergies
• Violators can be penalised with 7-year imprisonment or pay fine

Traders should realise that consuming adulterated fruits will cause long term damage to people’s health. They need to refrain from such practices aimed at earning easy money.

Dr R Kathiravan, Designated Officer, FSSAI, Chennai

FSSAI FORMULATING STANDARDS TO REGULATE NOODLE MARKET

Post Nestle’s Maggi fiasco followed by Ramdev’s Pantajali noodles which caused some embarrassing moment to the Government, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is formulating standards for instant noodles to regulate the growing market of the eatable item.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO of the top food regulator told The Pioneer on Wednesday that a scientific panel has been set up to prepare the standards for the instant noodles.

He said that the standards were in the final stage and will be released soon. The standards specifies in details like essential ingredients, food additives, parameters of the residual level and testing parameters before giving approval for instant noodles. Presently, as per the FSSAI, noodles come under the ‘pasta’ category.

The standards are likely to be on the line of Codex standards for instant noodles which are being followed by many countries. These Codex does not apply on pasta category.

The framing of the standards were felt after the FSSAI found itself in spot when the Bombay High Court revoked the ban on Maggi noodles clamped by the food regulator. While the FSSAI maintained that the Maggi noodles were found to have toxic contents MSG, the court ordered lifting the ban on the popular instant noodles brand.

November, last year, the FSSAI also locked horns with the yoga guru Baba Ramdev-promoted FMCG venture Patanjali alleging that it had not taken approval or licence for its instant noodles.

However, Patanjali contested saying that they had licence for Pasta in central category from the FSSAI. And since as per the FSSAI, noodles come under the ‘pasta’ category, the Patanjali claimed that the food regulator had given them licence for relabeling in the pasta category.

Based on the licence for pasta category, the company has entered into agreements with various companies that have licences for making noodles, it added.

However, with the standards coming soon, the FSSAI feel that all the issues related to the instant noodles ‘will be resolved soon.”

With the changing lifestyle, in the past few years, market has witnessed a large number of instant noodles from consumer goods giants ITC (Sunfeast Yippee!), Glaxo-Smithkline (Horlicks Foodles), and Hindustan Unilever Limited (Knorr Soupy Noodles) among others vying for space.

HEALTH DEPT TO CURB UNREGISTERED VENDORS

To put a curb on unregistered street vendors selling edible items along the road side, health department has launched one month campaign to make street food vendors aware about the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) norms and to register the unregistered street sellers through specific procedure.

“After receiving frequent complaints on the issue, a meeting was conducted on March 12 under the supervision of food safety commissioner where all the food safety officers (FSOs) are instructed to carry out a month long campaign along with conducting a regular surveys in their respective wards,” informed, Director Food Safety, RK Dubey.

“Those earning more than 12 lakh or above must have to keep licence whereas those vendors whose income is less than 12 lakh need to get themselves registered through online procedure. All the Food safety officers have been instructed to conduct surveys to collect samples on regular intervals,” Dubey added.

The registrations of the street food vendors are mandatory. In exercise of the powers conferred under section 92 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI has proposed Draft of Food Safety and Standards Regulation, 2010 under which Part 3.2 makes it mandatory for all Food Business Operators in the country to be registered or licensed in accordance with the procedures laid down in the regulation.

“We have also issued a circular for all Food Safety Officers to conduct an inspection drive in there respective areas and rigorously carry out the campaign. It is mandatory for vendors to have ID proofs with them to fulfill the norms and avail the services,” Dubey further added.

Presently, there are three food safety officers (FSOs) for all the 55 wards. “We have been instructed to carry an intensive one month campaign at our respective wards starting from third week of March. As far as collecting samples are concerned, we are doing that on regular basis in all the wards. On a monthly basis more than 50 samples are collected which are send to state food safety laboratory for further examination. It is mandatory for all street vendors to have Identity proofs like Aadhaar, voter ID etc. to avail the license and getting themselves registered,” said Food safety officer, KP Singh, who keeps the track record of ward number 25 to 35.

The Registration of the food vendors has initiated since April 2014 in various cities across India to keep a trail of street food sellers.

68% of milk adulterated, new kit to test in 40 seconds

NEW DELHI: 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.

Science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan told the Lok Sabha that a new scanner had been developed which can detect adulteration in milk in 40 seconds, and pinpoint the adult rant.

Earlier, for every type of adulteration, a separate chemical test was required. Now a single scanner can do the job, he added. The scanner is priced at about Rs 10,000, and each test would cost a mere 5 to 10 paisa.

Most common adulterants found in milk are detergent, caustic soda, glucose, white paint and refined oil, a practice considered "very hazardous" and which can cause serious ailments.

Vardhan said in the near future, even GPS-based technology could be used to track the exact location in the supply chain where the milk was tampered with.

New technology developed to detect milk adulteration

A new technology to detect adulteration in milk has been developed by CSIR-Central Electronic Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CEERI) at Pilani in Rajasthan, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday.

"The new technology is based on acquiring electrochemical fingerprint coupled with multivariate data analysis technique. Globally, there is no system available based on similar methods. This is a fully Indian concept," the minister said.

CSIR-CEERI is a premier research institute in the field of electronics established in 1953 under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

The technology will cost around Rs.70,000 to Rs.1 lakh. The milk detection process will take nearly 40-45 seconds and the cost of testing will be as low as Rs.0.05 to Rs.0.10.

The technology has been transferred to two industries --Rajasthan Electronics and Instrument, Jaipur and Alpine Technologies, Surat.

In a written response in the Lok Sabha, the minister said: "The technology excels in its ability to detect known and unknown adulterants in milk and it has great potential to be used widely in dairy industries.

"The adoption and deployment of this technology in as many villages and milk societies as possible would be a step forward in enhancing the standards and quality of milk. Besides, it will also help in generating employment."

According to a FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) survey in 2011, the most common adulterants in milk are addition of water, glucose, skimmed milk powder, urea, detergent, caustic soda, which are very hazardous to life.

FSSAI chief agrees to recognise labs of juice sector in SAARC region

New Delhi, Mar 16 (KNN) The Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) today organized a workshop on ‘Regional Trade Development in Juice and Juice Products in SAARC countries: Opportunities and Challenges’.

Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CEO, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), was the chief guest at the event. While addressing the event, he said, “Specific customs related issues of Fruit Juice importers should be looked into. On a pilot scale FSSAI should recognise food testing laboratories of Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to prevent re-testing of food imports from these countries.”

Dr Sangam Kurade, President, FISME, said that the food industry is growing at the rate of 15 per cent YoY currently which is fastest amongst all other sectors.

“It is an excellent thought process from FISME which has taken a lead in removing trade barriers in the fruit juice sector,” Dr Kurade said.

Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General, FISME, highlighted that SAARC is the only region where the intra-regional trade is much lower than the global trade of the region in total.

“In the juice sector, it was found that despite India being a large market, it was importing juice concentrates and nectars from around the world but not from the SAARC countries. If the same products were imported from the SAARC countries, it would have come at far more competitive prices,” Bhardwaj explained.

Dr. S.C. Khurana, Juice Consultant, FSSAI, deliberated on the Market Access for Imports of Juice Products.

He said, “If all constituents of a food product conform to Indian standards, the product may not need separate approval by Food standard authorities.”

During the event a MoU was signed between FISME India and Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI). The objective of the agreement is to enhance cooperation between the two associations and institutional organisations promoting economic development of SMEs in their countries and their desire to facilitate intra-regional trade and regional economic cooperation between SMEs.

The FISME workshop was organized with the support of SAARC Trade Promotion Network and GIZ.

The workshop was organized on the second day of Aahar – the international food and hospitality fair, which started at Pragati Maidan on Tuesday. The fair was inaugurated by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

The SAARC region comprising of 8 member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives) is one of the fastest growing regions in juice consumption in the world. Although a bewildering variety of fruits and vegetables is also grown in the region, only a fraction of it is processed. The market is set to grow several fold-offering enormous opportunities to growers, producers and suppliers, if bottlenecks in the supply chains could be cleared.