Nashik: The recent case of milk adulteration in a Sinnar taluka village has prompted the senior officials of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to instructed all the food safety officers across north Maharashtra to check if similar illegal activities are taking place at other milk collection centres.
Nashik Rural’s Wavi police had booked four people for milk adulteration on a complaint registered against them by a food safety officer of the Nashik FDA. During routine checking of a milk collection centre, the FDA officials had found adulterants like spray-dried whey powder, refined soyabean oil, unknown colouriess liquid, whey powder solution etc. During the course of the investigation, the owner of the milk collection centre could now give a satisfactory explanation about why he had the adulterants to the officials. Subsequently, he named the two people who had provided him with the adulterants and the person who purchased the adulterated milk from him.
Chandrashekhar Salunke, the joint director of FDA-Nashik, said the food security officers have been conducting the raids as per his instructions. Now that one case of adulteration has been unearthed, it could be possible that similar illegal activities are carried out in other collection centres as well.
Against this backdrop, all food safety officers across the division – comprising Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and Nandurbar districts- have been instructed to be more vigilant and take action against those adulterating milk.
Salunke said there are standing instructions to the food safety officers to check for adulteration in food products. The officers have also been instructed to make sure that the food products are prepared and stored in hygienic conditions.
