60L of adulterated milk along with other accessories were recently seized
Despite milk adulteration being made a non-bailable offence, the rates in Maharashtra have been high in recent years.
This recently came into light when the police arrested a 40-year-old man in Maharashtra’s Thane district, for allegedly adulterating milk meant for sale. Apparently, empty plastic packets used to repack the stock of a branded milk had water mixed in it.
According to the 2019 annual report by the Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), a non-profit consumer organisation, from January 2019 – December 2019, 413 samples of milk packets were tested for their fat & solids-not-fat (SNF) contents.
Only 87 samples (21%) out of those adhered to the standards laid by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).
As per the report, 73 milk samples were branded packets and only 15% of them (11 samples) adhered to the standard mark. The remaining 85% sold in the market was adulterated.
Moreover, the report also said that 76 (21%) samples out of the 340 non-branded or loose milk packets tested, were standardised, whereas the remaining (264 packets) were found to be adulterated.
Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, says, “Dairy plays an important part in the different aspects of Indian society, be it religion, culture, cuisine or the economy. India ranks first among all countries in both production as well as consumption of milk. Not to mention the many health benefits of milk. Looking at how important this is to the Indian population, it is imperative that milk sold in the market complies with the regulations laid by the apex food regulator, FSSAI.”