MUMBAI: The Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) has got an electronic analyser at its Azad Maidan office, where consumers can check if milk is adulterated for Rs 20 per sample.
You can use the test results to take up your case with accredited laboratories authorised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) or Food and Drug Administration ( FDA), where final testing can help sue the distributor. Milk adulteration is a cognizable and non-bailable offence in Maharashtra.
The analyser can test the water content of milk, plus its fat, protein and lactose content. The machine will also be used at consumer contact camps in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and other areas of the metropolitan region besides camps at schools, colleges and housing societies.
“Though there has been no major chemical adulteration of milk in Mumbai city, the addition of water is rampant in and around it, especially in distant suburbs like Bhiwandi, where distributors add soda to preserve it for long, in the absence of electricity, required for refrigeration,” said CGSI chairman Sitaram Dixit.
“People can come with milk samples and check them within five minutes. A tube attached to the machine sucks 15ml milk, analyses it and displays the results on the screen, which can be printed,” he said, pointing out that as per state government standards, cow’s milk should have 3.5% fat and buffalo milk 4.5%.
Among all food adulterations, milk adulteration with the simple addition of water is the most common, easy and lucrative.
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