The yearly pattern clearly indicates that non-compliance has been on the rise
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has laid out the standards that milk & milk products should have to comply with in order to be deemed fit for human consumption.
Milk samples are always tested against these standards. The two parameters measured are Milk Solids-Not-Fat (SNF) and Milk Fat.
Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), an NGO has been guiding consumers since 1966. In order to create awareness amongst consumers about the quality of milk that is supplied, CGSI tests milk on a regular basis by running consumer contact camps primarily in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
According to a CGSI annual milk testing report (2019), 79% of milk samples tested in MMR by the Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) in 2019 did not comply with FSSAI standards. The figures were 85% for branded milk and 78% for loose/unbranded milk.
As per the 2019 report, 413 samples of loose/unbranded as well as branded milk bought by consumers were tested during the period Jan–Dec 2019. The yearly pattern clearly indicates that non-compliance has been on the rise.
Water is the most common adulterant. Other adulterants that are usually tested for in milk samples are: Detergents/ Caustic soda, Vegetable oil/fat, Hydrogen peroxide, Glucose, Sugar, Formalin, Salt, Starch, Urea, Skimmed milk powder, Ammonium sulphate, Maltodextrin, Nitrates, Boric acid, Cellulose, Neutralizers (such as carbonates, bicarbonates, NaOH, KOH, ammonia, various alkalis, etc.), Melamine, Oxytocin etc.
Except for Oxytocin, all the adulterants are added to the milk itself to reduce costs and/or increase profits. Adulteration from Oxytocin, however, happens at the cattle sheds.
Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, says “Natural milk has high nutritional content. Depending on the adulterant, the effects would vary. Consumption of adulterated milk regularly has long term effects on different organs of the body that may creep up on you eventually.”
“For example, detergent causes kidney and stomach problems. Urea causes a burning sensation in the chest and throat, nausea, headache and vomiting. Formalin is highly poisonous and causes kidney and liver damage. Oxytocin is responsible for early puberty, poor eyesight, loss of memory, and deformities in unborn babies”, he adds.