Assembly panel bats for new law to curb milk adulteration

The Vidhan Sabha Committee on Cooperation and its Allied Activities has recommended that a new law should be framed to check the adulteration of milk and milk products, providing for strict punishment in such cases.

Advertisement

This will not only protect human health against adulterants, but also help increase income of dairy farmers.

Recommendations on improving the cooperative sector in the state have been made in the report of the committee headed by Sardulgarh MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali. The report was tabled in the Budget session.

After holding deliberations with Milkfed officials, the committee concluded that 99 per cent of the milk that reached the Milkfed plants was safe and free of adulteration. Whenever the milk supplied to Milkfed was found adulterated, it had been observed that the illegal activity occurred during transportation of milk from collection centres in villages to the processing plant.

Milk is screened for adulterants at villages. FTIR-based screens have been installed at all milk collection centres in villages to check 16 adulterants. The quality of milk is rechecked when it reaches the processing plants. If found adulterated, the entire milk is discarded.

“The transporters have to be dealt with strictly. Those found supplying adulterated milk should be barred from being engaged by Milkfed and all other cooperative societies in the state.

‘Pursue cases properly’

Though the law says those adulterating any food item can be awarded up to five-year imprisonment, such cases are not often properly pursued. This has to change,” the committee members have said.

The panel has also taken note of the frauds detected in various milk plants and recommended that inquiries against erring officers be conducted by the SDMs only, with the support of a technical-cadre officer. It is further recommended that those indulging in frauds and those charge-sheeted should not be posted at key positions.