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To avoid the issue of detergent found in milk samples meant for Mother Dairy products spiralling into a Nestle-like controversy, the National Dairy Development Board subsidiary said that the samples tested were of loose milk deposited at its collection centres.
S Nagarajan, Managing Director, Mother Dairy, told media persons here on Wednesday that it is unfortunate that loose milk samples collected at village level which are yet to be accepted for processing at the company’s factory had allegedly not passed the test of the Uttar Pradesh Food & Drug Authority (FDA). He also said that it was erroneous to attribute milk samples to the company. Nagarajan said the company has not yet seen the test reports. “We will engage with the UP FDA authorities and FSSAI on this issue,” he added.
“This is not a sample of a product that we have sold. It is not even sample of a product received by our processing plant. The milk sample was drawn even before it had reached the chilling centre, where the first level of testing happens to ascertain the quality of milk for further processing,” he added. Last December, the UP FDA officials collected two milk samples from the company’s collection centre at Bah near Agra.
Nagarajan said that the milk is first pooled at the collection centre, after that it is taken to the chilling centre where it undergoes the required tests to check for adulteration and for percentage FAT and percentage SNF (Solid Not Fat).
“If the milk is found not to meet the requisite standards, it is rejected,” he said, adding, “We want to reaffirm to our customers that Mother Dairy sells safe milk for consumption.” The company said that it undertakes four levels of thorough testing at input, processing, dispatches and even at market level. “Every tanker of milk reaching our plants passes a series of 23 stringent quality tests to check and deviation from defined parameters,” the company said.
The UP Food and Drug Administration on Monday alleged the presence of detergents in one of two samples of Mother Dairy milk packets, both were found to be “sub-standard”, according to the FDA officials.
They added that an FIR would be registered against the company under Section 59 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which covers the sale of unsafe food items.
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