The growing menace of milk adulteration in India

It refers to a very important issue of adulterated and spurious milk and milk products raised in Rajya Sabha. Usual reports of unauthorised units found producing synthetic milk and spurious milk products like khoya & paneer require supply of pure milk & milk products at least in cities where branded milk and milk products are easily accessible. Government should take some concrete steps in the interest of public health, that too in a manner that consumers are not cheated by big corporates by supplying less quantity through gimmick packaging.

Sale of only branded milk

With government-owned Mother Dairy and co-operative giant Amul, apart from some other private companies, now dominating the National Capital Region of Delhi in the supply of milk and milk products, sale of only branded milk may be permitted in the capital city. There are other reputed co-operative giants like Vita, Verka, Sudha, Saras and Nandini dominating sale of branded milk and milk products in respective states. Therefore, sale of only branded milk may be permitted in cities with availability of plenty of branded milk.

Discourage khoya-based sweets

Consumption of khoya during the festive season of Diwali in Delhi much exceeds all probable capacity through practical availability of milk to produce so much khoya. Demand for khoya in the festive season evidently can only be fulfilled through adulterated khoya available in the open market. Apart from launching a massive educative campaign through electronic and print media against use and exchange of sweets during the festive season (sweets are otherwise harmful in consumption with ever-increasing diabetic patients in the country), every effort should be made to increase production of branded khoya by reputed manufacturers in the public, private and co-operative sectors. Regular checks with sweet dealers for checking adulterated khoya can discourage confectioners from making khoya-based sweets. Sale of unbranded paneer should also be discouraged through a massive educative campaign launched by central and state governments to use home-made paneer from branded milk.

Mother Dairy and Amul, having appreciable market share in Delhi, should also arrange door delivery of khoya for bulk purchasers on advance booking. Mother Dairy markets khoya, but because of extraordinary fat content, its product is not only costlier but is much harder to use. Mother Dairy should decrease fat content in khoya to make it softer, with its price comparable with that of khoya sold in the open market by the unorganised sector. Fat content of khoya can be used for production of ghee and butter to increase profitability.

Packaging of milk should be in true metric spirit

Namaste India branded milk marketed in Delhi by NIF Limited has adopted an anti-consumer practice through gimmick packing of its milk in packs of 950 ml and 1900 ml printed in tiny little alphabets to look like packs of one and two litres respectively to befool customers. Other milk products marketed by milk companies, including Mother Dairy and Amul, are at times in odd packings like 400 ml or g, 250 ml or g, 450 ml or g etc.

Milk and all milk products, including ghee, must be compulsorily packed in true metric spirit in either packs of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and likewise g, ml, litres and kg only as the case may be. Bigger milk packs presently packed in six litres can be packed in five litres. Rule should cover ghee also, which should be packed in big packs of 10 or 20 kg or litres rather than 15 kg or litres as at present. Moreover, products like ghee should be uniformly packed in litres only and not in kg to avoid confusion. Consumers are confused in comparing prices of different brands where some marketers pack in litres while others pack in kg.

Co-operative giant Amul, ranking 15th in the top 100 most valuable food brands in the world, needs to be encouraged further in larger public interest of India.

It is a matter of pride for the co-operative sector in India when Amul ranked 15th in the top 100 most valuable food brands in the world according to the Brand Finance Food and Drink 2021 report, with private-sector Britannia being the only other Indian company to find 54th place. Co-operative giant Amul should be encouraged and entrusted in larger public interest for extending its marketing scope by implementing long-awaited implementation of tender results of handing over loss-generating Delhi Milk Scheme to Amul.

With too many complaints coming in the mid-day meal programme in schools and railway catering, Amul, other co-operative giants and government-owned Mother Dairy can be entrusted to supply packaged food items for the mid-day meal programme and railway catering. Central and state governments should encourage Amul and other co-operative giants like Vita, Verka, Sudha, Saras and Nandini engaged in marketing milk and milk products through allotment of land at subsidised rates to set up new units. Such encouragement will not only be in public interest, but will also induce healthy competition amongst other Indian companies to find a place in the top 100 most valuable food brands in the world.

Panchamrit by Amul

Co-operative milk giant Amul has introduced Panchamrit, a holy mix of milk, curd, honey, powdered sugar and ghee which is used to offer to deities in Hindu temples to be later consumed as prasad by devotees. Considering use of adulterated ghee in prasad of laddoos in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam during an earlier regime calls for entrusting reputed co-operative giants like Amul, Vita, Verka, Sudha, Saras, Nandini etc and Mother Dairy to prepare prasad in famous Hindu temples of the country. Loss-making Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) should be immediately transferred to Amul as per tender results for best utilisation of DMS resources including its milk booths Co-operative giant Amul had won over Mother Dairy to take over Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) running in heavy losses at an annual lease of rupees 42.30 crore against rupees 42.20 offered by Mother Dairy for 30 years with a 7 per cent annual increase in lease amount in the bid opened on 27.11.2018. DMS started in the year 1959, having already piled up losses to the tune of rupees 900 crores, was decided to be given by the central government to some market leader.

Presently 564 DMS booths scattered on prime public land throughout the capital city of India are being grossly misused as private shops (photo of a DMS milk booth attached) by the licensees in corrupt partnership with DMS personnel by authorisation to sell products other than from DMS. It is to be noted that Mother Dairy booths in Delhi-NCR sell only Mother Dairy products, a big reason for success of Mother Dairy.

However, in case the Central Government does not accept the Amul bid, then it should merge DMS together with all its 564 booths with government-owned Mother Dairy. DMS, a “white elephant” on the public exchequer, with regular reduction in its utilisation capacity from 43.20 per cent in the year 2019-20 to 21.60 per cent in the year 2023-24. Mother Dairy should also be declared a public authority under RTI also because it is part of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) which is already a public authority under the RTI Act.

News reports indicated about Mother Dairy going into losses continuously in fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-20, which was mainly because of Mother Dairy investing in Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS) which could not repay loans later. Rule should be that all accounts and investments, including salary accounts of employees of central and state governments, their departments, undertakings and every other body attached to the governments, including co-operative societies with government nominees on their boards, must compulsorily be only with public-sector banks.

Mother Dairy, though a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), already a public authority under the RTI Act, is still not under the purview of the RTI Act. Central government should declare Mother Dairy and other such bodies owned directly or indirectly through a body already under the purview of the RTI Act, public authorities under the RTI Act, making these accountable to the public to check wrongdoings in such bodies. Only recently, Mother Dairy, without any publicity for consumers, provided a half-litre pack of pro-milk free with a one-litre pack of Buffalo Milk resulting in revenue loss for Mother Dairy for reasons best known to decision takers.

Lok Sabha member Ramesh Biduri once rightly demanded allowing cows and buffaloes as milch animals in homes to provide a milky opportunity at least to affluent ones to get pure unadulterated milk. Step may also result in sharp reduction of milk prices which will be beneficial for those non-affording to have cows or buffaloes at their homes. However, guidelines can be fixed whereby milch animals may be allowed only if others residing in the same premises have no objections, and to ensure that such permission may not adversely affect public hygiene.

Tea was reportedly declared as national drink by the then Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia of the erstwhile Planning Commission, the statement rightly criticised by India’s biggest co-operative dairy Amul. Milk is the best and natural energy product which is perhaps the only drink apart from water which is consumed by people of all ages, including even newborn babies.

Even tea has milk as its integral part. Moreover, drinks like tea  and coffee have serious drawbacks of causing addiction and are not consumed by all alike. Milk is the base product for many other essential food products like curd, cheese, ice cream etc. Hence milk only should be declared as national drink.

The author is a writer, a Guinness World Record holder and an RTI consultant; views are personal