Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Milma) has decided to remove the imprint ‘fresh and pure’ from its milk sachets with effect from November 1. Milma will market its product with a brand new packaging from that date and will display a new tagline, ‘Let’s grow’.
The cooperative milk marketing body was directed by the High Court a few months ago to remove the phrase ‘fresh and pure’ from its packaging after a consumer took up a case on the issue, contending that Milma milk contained skimmed milk powder. Milma had claimed that milk powder was being added to maintain the SNF (solid not fat) content in the milk as required by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The milk, produced by different breeds of cattle and procured from various centres, did not conform to the stipulated SNF norms. Milma authorities had also explained that the tagline ‘fresh and pure’ had been displayed as part of the National Dairy Development Board marketing scheme.
Along with the introduction of the new packaging, Milma has decided to withdraw its Jersey brand of milk from the market. A senior official of the milk marketing body said that the step was being taken as it was difficult to sell milk belonging to jersey breed of cattle alone. The Ernakulam region of Milma will introduce homogenized toned milk in the market, at Rs.35 per litre. The particular variety was not available in the region earlier.
