SPOT INSPECTION: Delhi Health Minister Yoganand Shastri (centre) inspecting some milk items at a processing center in old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area on Wednesday . — PHOTO:PTI

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Prevention of Food Adulteration and the Health Department of the Delhi Government on Wednesday launched a crackdown against adulteration of milk and milk products across the Capital, conducting raids at nearly 30 places and lifting samples including those from government-controlled wholesale run markets for presence of oxytoxin, urea and less than prescribed proportion of milk constituents.

The raids were undertaken following complaints of massive adulteration in milk and milk products that reach the Capital from neighbouring States and are sold in open market and those controlled by the Delhi Government. As it is, summer is a lean period for milk production and there is a seasonal increase in adulteration.

Interestingly, Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri raised this matter two months ago in the Delhi Assembly. He had alleged that massive adulteration was going on with official patronage in Delhi and fraudulent milk and milk products were being sold to unsuspecting customers, something that could have serious health implications. However, Health Minister Yoganand Shastri had brushed aside the issue stating that the Government had not received any such complaints. Now two months after Mr. Bidhuri raising the issue and the Government denying it, a crackdown has been launched.

It is learnt that the authorities had constituted eight raiding parties all led by the area SDMs. The teams conducted search operations in Ramesh Nagar, Patel Nagar, Ranjit Nagar, Subhash Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Vikaspuri, Subzi Mandi, Rohini, Karol Bagh, Nehru Nagar, Baljeet Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Shahdara and Kotwali Sub-Division where milk and milk product are traded and auction takes place. Besides, raids were conducted in Fatehpuri where bulk of cottage cheese (paneer) dealers operate. Interestingly, as the raiding parties started searches, many of the shopkeepers fearing prosecution downed their shutters and ran away. Nearly 30 places were raided and samples collected.

Dr. Shastri has asked the public analyst to scrutinise these samples on a priority basis and submit a report within 48 hours.

Under Section 23 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, the Central Government alone is competent to define the method of analysis including the sampling procedure. So far the Union Government has not prescribed any testing procedure for presence of oxytoxin. As for the presence of deadly urea in the milk, a study conducted by the Health Ministry some time back revealed that the presence of urea in milk was mostly due to natural causes and not due to malpractices in the trade. Several studies have indicated that the high level of urea in milk was due to the presence of urea in the cattle feed.

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