Are you drinking healthy milk? Findings of the National Milk Safety and Quality Survey explained

The FSSAI said that over 93 per cent of the milk samples tested were found to be safe for consumption. However, the agency said there are concerns over non-compliance on many quality parameters.

Of the 6,432 samples, 5976 samples or 93 per cent were found to be perfectly safe for consumption. | 

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Just 12 out of 6,432 samples of milk were found adulterated
• 368 samples were found to be contaminated with Aflatoxin M1
• FSSAI says presence of ammonium sulphate in milk is natural and is not harmful for consumption

New Delhi: The largescale perception in India that the milk we are consuming is adulterated has been busted going by the FSSAI survey. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released its National Milk Safety and Quality Survey 2018.

According to the survey, just 12 out of 6,432 samples of milk were found adulterated. The survey was conducted in all states and Union Territories (UTs) between May 2018 and October 2018. Of these 12 adulterated samples, nine were from Telangana, two from Madhya Pradesh and one from Kerala.

Major survey finding

A major finding that emerged from the survey was the presence of a substance called 'Aflatoxin M1' in the milk samples. The presence of Aflatoxin M1 residues in the milk was found beyond permissible limits. 368 samples out of 6,432 were found contaminated with this residue. 

The presence of aflatoxin M1 in the milk is due to fodder, which is unregulated in the country. The top three states with the highest levels of aflatoxin include Tamil Nadu (88 of 551 samples), Delhi (38 of 262 samples) and Kerala (37 of 187 samples).

Antibiotic presence in milk

Not only Aflatoxin M1, the survey also found that some of the milk samples contained residues of antibiotics above permissible limits. The top three states with the highest levels of antibiotics were Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In Kerala, one raw milk sample was found containing pesticide residue.

The last milk surveys conducted by FSSAI were in 2011 and 2016 with a sample size of 1,791 and 1,663 respectively. However, those surveys could not present a clear picture due to small sample sizes and different laboratories with no uniform procedure employed.

The food safety body also concluded that the presence of ammonium sulphate in milk is natural and is not harmful for consumption as opposed to previous conclusions that it was a contaminant. 

Of the 6,432 samples, 5,976 samples or 93 per cent were found to be perfectly safe for consumption. However, the survey indicated that 41 per cent of samples, though safe, fell short on one more parameter.

The survey further said that though the perception of adulteration in milk was busted, there are concerns over non-compliance on quality parameters, particularly in processed milk.

This non-compliance was found on account of low fat or low SNF (solids not fat). These are the two key quality parameters both in raw and processed milk.