FDA plans milk sticks to curb adulteration

In a bid to curb adulteration in milk, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon introduce milk sticks to check quality. This will be made available to the common man. With only 20 food inspectors for the city, the FDA wants the people to monitor the milk adulteration and report it.

The FDA has approached a few private companies in order to make available milk sticks at around Rs 100.

“We have been working on making available the milk sticks to the public so that they can check the quality of the milk they consume every week. Adulteration takes place at the distributors level and we do not have a strong network to expose it. We act on the complaints we receive and occasional raids are also conducted,” FDA commissioner Harshdeep Kamble told this paper.

The FDA has found that along with lime and soda, harmful chemicals such as urea is also used for adulteration. “Ingredients such as sugar is used to maintain the density of the milk. Tabs are kept on companies that supply milk to the city with surprise raids. However, the quality has always been found to be as per standards in these raids. So, we realised it is only at the latter stage that it is mixed with harmful chemicals,” Mr Kamble said.

The idea for the milk sticks was proposed by the commissioner.

“I wanted a cheap and easy method to check the milk quality. Currently, the National Dairy Board has the kit, but it is available for Rs 3,000 which makes it unaffordable to the public for daily use. Our emphasis is on reducing its price to Rs 100 and introducing the milk sticks in the market by December this year,” Mr Kamble said.

The Commissioner also hoped that the use of the milk sticks would curb the adulteration practices, as the FDA can then monitor the problematic areas. This will definitely increase the quality of food.

“Milk is usually consumed by children. The milk sticks would be helpful for mothers who are concerned about their child’s health. It will also help us nab the gangs involved in malpractices and make available milk which is of better quality,” he added.

It is estimated that Mumbai needs about 50 lakh litres of milk on a daily basis, while other urban areas need about 40 lakh litres per day.

Though the state’s production of milk is 1.5 crore litre every day, a large quantity of milk is also brought from neighbouring states such as Gujarat.