Lok Sabha Question No. 799 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-14
Subject: Adulteration in Milk
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT, KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE, VINCENT H PALA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 799 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 TH DECEMBER, 2018

## ADULTERATION IN MILK

## 799. SHRI ARVIND SAWANT: SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: SHRI VINCENT H. PALA:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  the  facilities  available in  the  country  to  test  adulteration  in  milk and  the assistance being provided by Government to strengthen the said facilitie s;
- (b) whether the quality of milk in India is as per globally approved standards;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government has received any request/proposal for preparing quality standard of milk in thecountry to meet global standards; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the act on taken/proposed to be taken thereon?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a): Presently, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has a network of 267 food laboratories under Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 in the Government as wel Private Sector. This comprises of 248 laboratories for primary testing and 19 laborato ies for appellate (referral) testing of food items, including adulteration in milk.

FSSAI  is  implementing  a  Central  Sector  Scheme  (CSS)  for  ' Strengthening  of  Food Testing System in the Country including Provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs ' with an outla y of Rs.481.95 crore during the period from 2016 - 17 to 2018 - 2019. One of the components of the scheme is strengthening of State Food Testing Laboratories to create a network of modern Testing  Laboratories  at  the  State  Level.  Under  this  scheme,  n early42  State  Food  Testing Laboratories  have  been  envisaged  to  be  upgraded  with  high  end  equipment,  subject  to readiness. So far, a total of 30 State Food Laboratories of 25 States/UTs have been ta upgradation and a grant of Rs.127.95 crore has bee n sanctioned/ released .

Under  another  component  of  the  CSS,  nearly  50  Mobile  Food  Testing  Laboratories (MFTLs) have  been  envisaged to  be  provided  to  States/UTs.  So  far,  a  total  of  40  mobil laboratories have been sanctioned, of which 33 MFTLs have been de livered to 27 States/UTs. These  mobile  laboratories  are  executing  the  functions  of  surveillance  and  creating  awa regarding the food safety in remote areas in the States/UTs, large public congregations, etc. and providing on the spot test fac ilities for qualitative adulteration in milk, water, edibl and  other  common  food  items  of  daily  consumption. FSSAI  also  provided  Electronic  Milk Adulteration Testing Machines (EMAT) to 29 States/UTs for analysis of milk parameters and differentiate between genuine and spurious milk. EMAT machines can be easily used in remote areas where testing facilities are not available.

(b)& (c): Yes, quality and identity standards of milk are specified in sub - regulation 2.1.2 of Food Safety and Standards (Fo od Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. Microbiological standards of milk are specified in 'Appendix B' of Food Safety and Standards (Food  Product  Standards  and  Food  Additives)  Regulations,  2011.  Maximum  limit  of  heavy metals and residu es of pesticides and antibiotics/veterinary drugs in milk are specified i Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011. Specific hygi and sanitary practices to be followed by dairy business operators to ensure safety of milk are mentioned in Part III of Schedule IV in Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registr of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011. These standards of milk have been framed largel accordance  with  the  standards  specified  by  Codex  Alimentar ius  Commission  (established  by FAO and WHO to protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade).

Further, a third party assisted National Milk Safety and Quality Survey, 2018 cond in  May  2018  with  a  sample  size  6432  samples  taken  from  1100    towns  for  qualitative quantitative analysis  reveals that  more than 90% of the milk is safe.   Slightl y less than 10% samples  had  contaminants  (Aflatoxin  M1 - 5.7%,  Antibiotics - 1.2%,  Pesticides - less  than  0.1%, other adulterants - 3.2%) in excess of specified limits coming mainly from poor farm practices.

(d)& (e): Standards of milk with respect to  the qual i y par meters were revised on the basis of the requests received from various domestic stakeholders and were notified in Food and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Thirteenth Amendment Regulations, 2017 on 12.10.2017.

In the revised  Regulation,  'General  Standards  for  Milk  and  Milk  Products'  have  been provided  which  includes  definition  for  milk,  reconstituted  milk  and  recombined  milk. standards are in alignment with the Codex standards (General Standard For The Use Of Da ry Terms;  Codex  standard  206 -1999).  Further,  'Standards  For  Milk'  includes  new  definition  of species identified milk and revised definitions for Full Cream Milk, Standardized Milk, Milk, Double Toned Milk, and Skimmed Milk. In addition, quality stand ards for cow milk have been made uniform throughout the country and quality standards for camel milk have also introduced. Further, work has also been initiated towards uniform standards of goat/shee across the country and also on the developmen t of the standards for lactose free/low lactose milk largely in alignment with the international standards.