Is milk adulteration under check in the City?

Hyderabad: The Police seems busy raiding shops and food outlets for adulterated food items but milk which is an essential part of almost every city dweller is left unattended.

The city dwellers are fond of tea and is staple drink in Hyderabad among all ages, but how careful is the health department in keeping a check over the mass production of milk which is sold across the city in almost every locality.

Speaking about the issue, a police officer said, “There are other agencies like health department, food safety wings to check adulteration issues, but they do not have the powers to arrest or prosecute the violators. The maximum they can do is collect samples and if found guilty, seize the unit or cancel the licence”.

The police are authorized to book cases against these culprits as adulteration of any type of food or drinks amounts to cheating which could also cause death to people.

“They can be arrested and if they are found to be repeatedly involved in adulteration issues, their properties can be seized and they can also be detained under the PD Act,” says another official.

Meanwhile, the complete concentration is on adulteration of seeds which are sold to farmers which do not give expected yields incurring huge loses to them.

“The priorities change from season to season. But adulteration of commodities like milk, spices, turmeric, edible oils, ghee, masalas, fruit juices is under constant surveillance” says one official.

Adulteration of milk is a serious issue apart from keeping in mind the numbers consuming this milk in various forms, the milk procured is through illegal and unethical methods which include injecting the cattle with banned hormones like oxytocin, adding toxic additives to preserve milk for longer periods which are causing health issues among the public, sources reported.