January 12, 2012

A study by India's Union government revealed that 70% of samples (on an average) were contaminated in 33 states where the tests were carried out.

In Rajasthan, 76% of the milk samples were found adulterated; some with detergents, besides water. The worrying part of the study was its conclusion that the 'packed milk' was not absolutely safe and in cases, not milk at all - only reconstituted powdered milk.

The National Survey on Milk Adulteration 2011 was conducted by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and its results made public recently.

"The objective of the survey was to identify the common adulterants in milk in rural and urban areas of different states and to find out the non-performing samples in loose and packed milk," an FSSAI official said.

Except for Goa and Puducherry, milk samples in all states, were found adulterated.

In Rajasthan, the surveyors studied 103 samples of milk, packed and open. According to the state report, 78 samples failed the purity test. One out of every five samples in state that failed in the test was packed milk -used widely in urban areas.

Besides water and detergents, strains of hydrogen peroxide, sugar, starch, glucose, urea, formalin and vegetable fat were the common adulterants in milk.

"The study is a revelation; if these impurities are finding a way into our system then they can lead to acute inflammation of the intestines, gastric disorders and lifelong digestion problems," said Dr Ajay Sharma, senior gastro-intestinal surgeon at Fortis, Jaipur. He added that detergents and urea were certainly abrasive and most harmful for the human body.

Jaipur district collector, Kudeep Ranka, who had carried out adulteration tests on milk samples in city, admitted several samples were found contaminated. "Action against adulterators is a continuous process, but we have lined up one of the biggest campaign against milk adulteration in Jaipur this year," he said.