Milk Adulteration and its Control

Milk Adulteration and its Control

Adulteration in milk has been a cause of concern for both the Government and the Dairy
Industry. The Indian Council of Medical Research has reported that milk adulterants have
hazardous health effects. The detergent in milk can cause food poisoning and other
gastrointestinal complications. Its high alkaline level can also damage body tissue and destroy
proteins. Other synthetic components can cause impairments, heart problems, cancer or even
death. While the immediate effect of drinking milk adulterated with urea, caustic soda and
formalin is gastroenteritis, the long-term effects are far more serious.
Adulterants used in Milk:
Milk is most commonly diluted with water - this not only reduces its nutritional value, but
contaminated water can also cause additional health problems.
The other adulterants used are mainly detergent, foreign fat, starch, sodium hydroxide (caustic
soda), sugar, urea, pond water, salt, maltodextrin, sodium carbonate, formalin, and ammonium
sulphate.
TIMES OF INDIA
RELATED KEYWORDS: The-samples|the-rest|skim-milk-powder|milk-samples|Gujarat|FoodSafety-Standards-Authority-of-India

70% of milk in Delhi, country is adulterated

The author has posted comments on this articleKounteya Sinha, TNN | Jan 10, 2012, 02.33AM
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NEW DELHI: Beware, your daily glass of good health could actually be doing you harm. As
much as 70% of milk samples picked up from the capital by a government agency failed to
conform to standards.

Of the 71 samples randomly taken from Delhi for testing by the Food Safety Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI), 50 were found to be contaminated with glucose and skim milk powder (SMP),
which is usually added to milk in the lean season to enhance volumes.
Elsewhere in the 33 states and UTs study, milk was found adulterated with detergent, fat and
even urea, besides the age-old dilution with water. Across the country, 68.4% of the samples
were found contaminated.
Only in Goa and Puducherry did 100% of the samples tested conform to required standards. At
the other end were West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Mizoram, where not
a single sample tested met the norms.
Other prominent states fared just a shade better. Around 89% of the samples tested from Gujarat,
83% from Jammu & Kashmir, 81% from Punjab, 76% from Rajasthan, 70% from Delhi and
Haryana and 65% from Maharashtra failed the test. Around half of the samples from Madhya
Pradesh (48%) also met a similar fate.
States with comparatively better results included Kerala where 28% of samples did not conform
to the FSSAI standards, Karnataka (22%), Tamil Nadu (12%) and Andhra Pradesh (6.7%).
The samples were collected randomly and analysed from 33 states totaling a sample size of
1,791. Just 31.5% of the samples tested (565) conformed to the FSSAI standards while the rest
1,226 (68.4%) failed the test.
A study conducted by Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) across 33 states has
found that milk was adulterated with detergent, fat and even urea, besides the age-old practice of
diluting it with water. Across the country, 68.4% of the samples were found contaminated.
These were sent to government laboratories like Department of Food and Drug Testing of
Puducherry, Central Food Laboratory in Pune, Food Reasearch and Standardization Laboratory
in Ghaziabad, State Public Health Laboratory in Guwahati and Central Food Laboratory,
Kolkata, for testing against presence of adulterants like fat, neutralizers, hydrogen peroxide,
sugar, starch, glucose, urea, detergent, formalin and vegetable fat.
Detergent was found in 103 samples (8.4%). "This was because milk tanks were not properly
washed. Detergents in milk can cause health problems," FSSAI official told TOI. The nonconforming samples in rural areas numbered 381 (31%) out of which 64 (16.7%) were packet
milk and 317 (83.2%) were loose samples.
In urban areas, the number of non-confirming samples were 845 (68.9%) out of which 282
(33.3%) were packed and 563 (66.6%) were loose.
The most common adulteration was that of fat and solid not food (SNF), found in 574 (46.8%) of
the non-conforming samples. This, scientists say, is because of dilution of milk with water. The
second highest parameter of non-conformity was skim milk powder in 548 samples (44.69%)
which includes presence of glucose in 477 samples. Glucose could have been added to milk

probably to enhance SNF.

The report asked state enforcement authorities to check whether the new FSSAI rules are being
complied with. An earlier first-of-its-kind study of milk boiling habits that involved 2,400
women across eight major cities had found that Chandigarh leads the pack in boiling milk, doing
it more than three times a day. While 84% women in Kolkata boiled milk for more than five
minutes, about 46% of women in Pune preferred to boil milk in high temperatures. The study, by
the Indian Medical Academy, said, "About 49% boil milk more than thrice before consumption.
Around 56% boil it for more than 5 minutes, and 73% don't stir while boiling," said Dr Pawan
Gupta, IMA.
Times View
This only confirms that food adulteration is common in India. Even milk, consumed primarily by
children, isn't spared. What's particularly worrying is the kind of substances used to adulterate,
including toxic chemicals. This shows the trade off between the risk of getting caught and the
'reward' of huge profits is skewed heavily in favour of the latter. The government must focus on
raising the risks to the adulterator. One way of doing this is by hiking the penalty, including
making it analogous to attempt to murder in extreme cases. It's equally important to regularly
check foodstuff for adulteration and ensure speedy trials.
Stay updated on the go with Tim

Adulterated milk is what Indians are drinking

70 per cent milk samples collected across the country by food safety authority did not conform to
standards
The results of a first-of-its-kind survey on milk by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI) reveal something startlingmost Indians are consuming detergents and other
contaminants through milk.
The National Survey on Milk Adulteration 2011, a snap shot survey, was conducted to check the
contaminants in milk, especially liquid milk, throughout the country. The study found that due to
lack of hygiene and sanitation in milk handling and packaging, detergents (used during cleaning
operations) are not washed properly and find their way into the milk. Other contaminants like
urea, starch, glucose, formalin along with detergent are used as adulterants. These adulterants are
used to increase the thickness and viscosity of the milk as well as to preserve it for a longer
period. The study notes that the consumption of milk with detergents in hazardous to health.
About eight per cent samples were found to have detergents.
Goa, Puducherry pass with flying colours
Water turns out to be the most common adulterant in milk. It reduces the nutritional value of
milk. If contaminated, water poses a health risk to consumers. Samples were collected from 28
states and five union territories. The worst performers were Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West
Bengal, Mizoram, Jharkhand and Daman & Diu, where non-conformity with food safety
standards was 100 per cent. The most common reason given for non conformity is the difference
between demand and supply of milk. in order to meet the demand, the suppliers usually
adulterate the milk and increase the quantity. Samples from Goa and Puducherry were 100 per
cent compliant.
There are nearly 70 per cent samples which have not conformed to the standards set for milk.
The problems were more pronounced in the milk sold loose as compared to the packaged milk.
Samples collected from rural areas fared better with only 30 per cent non-compliance as
compared to urban centres.

Of the total non-compliant samples, the highest, nearly 46 per cent, belonged to the category of
low Solid Not Fat (SNF) and this was due to dilution of milk with water. The higher the SNF, the
better the quality of milk. The other parameter for milk was the presence of skimmed milk
powder, which was present in nearly 548 samples, out of which 477 samples contained glucose.
A total of 1791 samples were tested.
Apart from fat, SNF, skimmed milk powder and glucose, the survey was also looking for the
presence of neutralisers, acidity, hydrogen peroxide, sugar, starch, urea, salt, detergent, formalin
and vegetable salt. Studies show that adulterants like salt, detergents and glucose add to the
thickness and viscosity of the milk, while starch prevents curdling of milk.
These adulterants are hazardous and cause irreversible damage to the organs. The Indian Council
of Medical Research in an earlier report had mentioned that detergents in milk caused food
poisoning and gastrointestinal complications; The other synthetic compounds cause impairments,
heart problems, cancer and even death. The immediate effect of drinking adulterated milk with
urea, caustic soda and formalin is gastroenteritis but the long term effects are known to be far
more serious.
FSSAI has asked all its state and union territories enforcement divisions to strengthen checks on
milk producers to ensure they are complying with the Food Safety and Standards Act.
Water, most common adulterant

Water turned out to be the most common adulterant in milk. It reduces the nutritional
value of milk. If contaminated (with pesticides, heavy metals), water poses a health risk
to consumers

Of the total non-compliant samples, the highest, nearly 46 per cent, belonged to the
category of low Solid Not Fat (SNF) and this was due to dilution of milk with water

About eight per cent samples were found to have detergents

Skimmed milk powder was present in nearly 548 samples, out of which 477 samples
contained glucose