December 10, 2013

Indian milk dealers seek dialogue on adulteration issue

India's Milk Dealers Welfare Association has urged the government to hold a discussion addressing the issue of adulteration.

The association has sought government support to form a four-member committee to inspect milk production units. The meeting was held after a Supreme Court's decision to take stringent action against milk producers and distributors for adulteration.

The country consumes around 10,000,000 litres of milk. While milk cooperative, Aavin, produces around 100,000 litres, private companies provide the rest of the supply. A national survey on milk adulteration conducted two years ago found that an estimated 12% of milk sold in the state does not conform to parameters set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

Association president, S.A. Ponnusamy, said, "It is difficult for each dealer to ensure the quality of milk we sell. Dealers must pay US$81.70 for each sample of the tests and only King Institute, Guindy does the tests. Since each producer offers at least four varieties of milk, we could end up paying US$327 for these tests."

At present, milk samples are taken for testing by food safety officials and Aavin.