Milk, sugar and a little urea in your tea

MAY 23: Check the identity card of your milk delivery man unless you want to consume milk mixed with detergents, vegetable oil and even ure...

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MAY 23: Check the identity card of your milk delivery man unless you want to consume milk mixed with detergents, vegetable oil and even urea fertiliser.

At a joint meeting on Wednesday, senior officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dairy Development Authority, National Chemical Laboratory and chiefs of various dairies decided on some concrete steps against the rampant milk adulteration in the city. Everyone agreed that issuing of I-cards bearing the supplier’s details will help in filing complaints against adulterators.

Adulteration of milk has grown into a well-organised, lucrative business. It begins at the cattle shed itself. The farmers are known to add caustic and baking soda (5-10 gms in 30 litres) as `preservatives’ to milk. Used milk pouches bought from raddiwalas are recycled. Besides, duplicate pouches bearing popular brand names like Gokul, Aarey and Mahananda are printed which are refilled with adulterated milk and sold, a consumer activist said.

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A chemical engineer revealed, “Synthetic milk is another danger. Detergents, vegetable oil, salt, sugar and urea are added to a small amount of milk. " Such milk is especially harmful to pregnant women, children and the sick, he said. The chemical mix of urea, soap solution, and caustic soda are known to be carcinogenic and leads to skin diseases. K Lakhina, Commissioner, FDA, said, “We have conducted many raids in recent days but it is only a short-term remedy.”

However, an analyst in a municipal laboratory, C H Dalvi said, “So far we have only received milk samples mixed with water but none with chemicals or synthetic milk.” The adulteration centres are: Thakkar Bappa Colony (Chembur), Indira Nagar (Mulund), Pump House (Andheri), the slum behind D.N. Nagar Police Station (Andheri-W), Dandpada (Khar), Tulsiwadi (Tardeo).