Ludhiana: A member of the Animal Welfare board said on Wednesday that almost 68.7 percent of milk and milk related products in the country does not follow the standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FASSAI).
The most common adulterants, according to Mohan Singh Ahluwalia, who is a member of Animal Welfare Board of India, were detergent, glucose, white paint, detergent, and refined oil.
“The state of adulteration in milk and milk products in the country is such that 68.7 percent of milk and milk products sold is not as per the standards laid down by the FSSAI,” he said.
As per the report by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Aluwalia said that around 89.2 percent of such products go through adulteration in one form or the other.
He further said that the milk production in the country till March 31, 2018, has been recorded to be 14.68 crore litres per day as against the consumption of 480 grams per capita per day.
The member was the head during a meeting held between different departments in Ludhiana.
According to him, the adulteration factor in milk was found to be more prevalent in northern states of the country when compared to the southern states.
Moreover, Mr. Ahluwalia supported his claim by citing the National Survey on Milk Adulteration’s survey in this regard some years ago and the survey proved that lack of hygiene and sanitation in handling and packaging, detergents used during washing of containers and other surfaces end up into milk and milk products.
“However, detergent and other contaminants like urea, starch, glucose, and formalin are also used to deliberately adulterate milk as they provide thickness and preserve the milk for longer periods,” he said.
The member further said that the adulterants found in milk can prove to be very hazardous to health and can result in irreversible damage to human organs.
In a most recent warning in this regard, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had recently issued an advisory to the Indian Government by stating that if there are check and control over milk and milk products adulteration immediately, a total of 87 percent of citizens here would have to face serious diseases like cancer by the year 2025.
Due to the excessive use of pesticides, said Mr. Ahluwalia, nowadays wheat too is getting poisonous in north India, which is in fact scientifically a “dangerous trend”.
“With a view to equipping the Food Safety and Standards Act with more teeth, a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The committee will investigate the ground realities of the issue and submit feedback,” the member said during a meeting at Nawanshahr.
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