Now, free-of-cost milk testing facility

Collector S Natarajan launching the testing unit in Ramanathapuram.

Consumers can check quality of milk; available in the district till September 6

Close on the heels of the labour department installing a weighing machine for the public to check underweight, the district unit of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has made available an electronic milk adulteration testing (EMAT) unit to check the quality of milk.

Launching the facility at a special camp at the municipality here on Monday, Collector S Natarajan said consumers could check the quality of milk free of cost at the computerised automation machine. In case of adulteration, they could lodge complaints with the food cell officer. The District Revenue Officer, who is the adjudicating officer, would act on the complaints and initiate necessary action.

The district became the second in the State, after Madurai, to make the facility available to the general public. The machine would be available in the district till September 6, he said and appealed to the public to make the best of it. The consumers could give 300 ml of milk and test the solid, solid not fat (SNF), density, sucrose (sugar in milk) and other chemical substances, if any, in the milk.

Food safety officials would help them to match the quality of the milk they had purchased for their daily use with the prescribed parameters for fat, SNF, density and sucrose. All classes of cow and buffalo milk could be tested, Dr. M.J.C. Bose, district designated officer, Food Cell, said.

EMAT would be available for testing in Kilakarai (covering Thirupullani block) on Tuesday and Paramakudi (covering Bogalur and Nainarkoil blocks) on Wednesday.

On September 1, the machine would be available in Kamudhi for the benefit of people in Mudukulathur and Kadaladi blocks, and on September 4 in Rameswaram. On September 6, EMAT would be available in RS Mangalam before it would be taken to other districts, he said.