SC wants action to check Milk Adulteration

A Government survey that found nearly 70 per cent of milk packets and samples in urban country side to be adulterated led the Supreme Court on Tuesday to question the Centre and States on what disciplinary action was initiated against officers who failed to curb this menace.

Finding that Uttar Pradesh was the most notorious in adulteration of both packed and loose milk, the bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghosh said: “If 88 per cent of milk is adulterated then the concerned officers need to be prosecuted.”

The court was hearing a PIL seeking regulatory standards to curb sale and manufacture of adulterated milk.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Rakesh  Khanna informed the court that the situation did merit attention as the survey conducted by Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) showed shocking levels of adulterated milk on sale across the country.

Revealing these details in an affidavit filed before the court, FSSA’s top-ranking officer stated that the sale of adulterated milk was high in urban areas and the common adulterants found were glucose, milk powder and water. Shockingly, some samples even showed traces of detergents, which is unsafe for consumption.

In all, the survey collected 1,791 samples from 33 States, of which 1226, i.e 68.4 per cent were found to be “non-conforming.” Of this, 381 samples were of rural areas while 845 pertained to the urban population. The study also found 282 among the urban samples to be packed milk with the remaining being loose milk sold in cities.

Agreeing with the grievance expressed in the PIL filed by one Swami Achyutanand Tirth, the bench said: “There is no doubt that adulteration of milk is happening all over the country. It is a very sensitive issue.” But the PIL focused on the health hazard posed by such adulterants.

Even the FSSA study found that water was the most common adulterant. “Addition of water not only reduced the nutritional value of milk but posed a health risk, if contaminated water was mixed,” the affidavit said.

The Court also recalled seeing on television how external agents are added to make milk thick, fatty and foamy. Turning the heat on the Government agencies to improve vigilance and enforce law using punitive measures, the bench observed: “If it (such practices) is still going on we want to know what action has been taken against the officers. We expect at least some disciplinary action to be taken.”

At present only six States are party to the PIL proceedings which included Rajasthan, Haryana, UP, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Assam. The court included even the State of Maharashtra and directed all States and the Centre to respond before July 31, the next date of hearing.