The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Drive against unlicensed milk vendors

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Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Drive against unlicensed milk vendors

A.V.Ragunathan

VILLUPURAM: Officials of the Villupuram and Cuddalore Municipalities launched a drive against unlicensed milk vendors on Tuesday to check the sale of substandard milk.

The officials seized several cans of substandard milk of about 1,000 litres and emptied it into the drains.

Villupuram Municipal Commissioner Balasubramanian and his Cuddalore counterpart Liaqath Ahmed Papa led the officials. In Cuddalore, 12 vendors were booked for violating rules. However, the vendors protested saying that the officials were targeting only the hapless.

The officials told the vendors that they required a licence to carry on the trade and that they should act with social responsibility. They could not be absolved of lapses in observing ethical trade practices.

According to the officials, all vendors should have valid licences, the milk should be free from contamination or adulteration, the containers should be clean and the milk should not be supplied in old and unwashed plastic bottles. But many vendors did not fulfil these conditions and some unscrupulous vendors (or suppliers) also mixed starch or urea or ‘rava’ to the milk to add density.

The officials said that when leading diaries were marketing 500 ml of milk sachet at Rs. 10.50 to Rs. 12 (exempted from raids), the vendors were selling one litre for Rs. 11 to Rs. 15. This led to suspicion that they were adopting prohibited measures and the raids established it.

The milk samples would also be sent to Kings Institute, Guindy, and after obtaining the results, the guilty would be punished, the officials said.

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