Spurious Milk a danger for life

Spurious Milk a danger for life

Kurukshetra, Oct 25 --- As the festive season approaches every year, we begin to hear more and more stories about spurious milk and dairy products being sold in the Indian markets. “Around 68.7 per cent of milk and milk products sold in the country is not as per the standards laid down by FSSAI,” conceded recently M.S. Ahluwalia, member, Animal Welfare Board of India and that “the most common adulterants are caustic soda, glucose, detergent, white paint and refined oil,” he added.

These scary details remind me of Darshan Singh, the first person from my village Bagthala in district Kurukshetra to migrate to Germany in search of work back in 1964. After some initial struggles, he managed to land a good job at the clinic of a doctor who ran a dairy business alongside. One day, the doctor had to go out of town, and so he entrusted upon Darshan Singh the task of supplying milk to his enlisted customers.

When the doctor returned and inquired from Darshan Singh whether the milk had been supplied to all the customers, he proudly replied in affirmative. However, when the doctor checked the records, he discovered that the milk yield on that particular day was lower than usual. Darshan Singh’s claim to have delivered milk to all despite less production, therefore, confounded the doctor.

But when questioned about the contrariety, Singh said that he had added water to the milk to make up the shortfall. Outraged by Singh’s shameless conduct, the doctor asked him to pack his bags at once and leave the country or he would file a police complaint against him.

Having lived for ten years in Germany, Darshan Singh immediately returned to India as a dejected man. His relatives and friends despite knowing why he was ousted from the country accorded him a hero's welcome with great pomp and show. When somebody later asked him the reason for his eviction, Darshan Singh quipped, “I don’t know what angered the doctor so much, this was exactly what we used to do in our village in such a situation without any hue and cry.” Apparently, Darshan Singh did not see an issue in what he had done.

Nothing seems to have changed much since then, except that water has been replaced with hazardous adulterants like detergent, paint, formalin, and even urea. Many factories involved in the manufacturing of spurious milk have been unearthed recently in Punjab and Haryana by the respective state police and several litres of synthetic milk has been seized which would have otherwise been used in the preparation of delicacies and sweets prior to festivals.

Those who indulge in this trade keep doing it without fear despite clear-cut directions from the Supreme Court that state, “It is also desirable that the Union of India revisits the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to revise punishment for adulteration making it more deterrent in cases where the adulterant can have an adverse impact on health." Although the authorities stay alert to curb the production of synthetic milk and do take strict measures from time to time to prevent such milk from reaching the public, they are not able to stop this unfair trade practice completely.

Milk adulteration is a grave issue because synthetic milk has many harmful effects on human health. Unfortunately, unlike Darshan Singh’s case, this rampant malpractice is not based on shortage or need; rather it is the result of some people’s greed who have no qualms about jeopardising human lives. The government must take more stringent steps to check this menace. It is high time that just like the German doctor we too take such offences very seriously and don’t let the culprits get away with them easily.