With Dairy Development Minister K. T. Rajendra Balaji sparking a controversy on Wednesday by claiming that some private dairy companies adulterate their milk supplies, officials at the department said that they have found evidence of formaldehyde in samples belonging to three brands.
Sources in the department said that samples were lifted from across Chennai city and tested at the department’s laboratory at Madhavaram after many complaints were received.
“We will lift samples from other parts of the State too. Since the samples in our laboratory tested positive for the presence of the chemical, we will collect more samples and send to laboratories in Guindy and Mysuru,” said an official who said one of the brands was a leading one.
“If we consume milk that has this preservative, it would lead to vomiting, ulcer and over a period of time even cancer,” said an official source.
Experts, however, say formaldehyde may have been added while lifting samples, as a preservative — a standard practice.
‘Prove quality’
Meanwhile, Mr. Rajendra Balaji, on Wednesday challenged the brands to prove that the milk they sell is of good quality. “Milk kept at room temperature should ideally curdle in five hours. These brands can remain for 30 - 40 days,” he told reporters at the Secretariat. Experts, however, say that many dairies including Aavin produce long shelf-life milk using approved practices.
Mr. Balaji said officials will conduct more raids at the dairies and plants of private milk brands and, if they are found to have poor quality, strict action will be taken.
He said a few companies add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to their milk to boost its shelf life. He said milk sold by Aavin is the “only pure milk and equivalent to a mother’s breast milk.”
Asked if other brands are not stepping in because there is unmet demand in the State, he said: “We make powder from milk, we will stop doing that and supply it as milk. If there is a shortage of milk, is it ok to drink poison?” he asked heatedly.
Expert opinion
Oncologists say although they have not come across cancer caused by adulterated milk they have enough evidence that long-term exposure to chemicals in food, soft drinks and water could cause cancers.
A senior city-based oncologist said, “I do not know of any case of cancer which has a causal association with the consumption of milk from private companies. But this needs further investigation," he said.
A specialist at a government institution said it is not possible to add hydrogen peroxide to milk as the chemical releases oxygen that could spoil milk.
However, one of the methods of adulteration is to use chemicals to increase its thickness. Dairy farmers could use this method as it enables them to add water and increase the quantity of milk, he said.
Companies respond
Even as the minister hurled charges against nameless brands, companies stepped in to do damage control. At a press conference, Hatsun Agro Product Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director R.G. Chandramogan assured their customers that their milk is safe to consume and free from any kind of chemical. “Nothing is added into Arokya milk, other than milk,” he said.
Through Arokya, their brand, they currently procure around 20 lakh litres of milk a day directly from farmers. Hatsun has around 32% of the market share in the State. Company executive director C. Sathyan said that they adhered to all testing procedures including for chemicals, heavy metals and even detergents that have been prescribed by the FSSAI.
Similarly, Heritage Foods Dairy Division Head J. Samba Murthy said that their milk too is definitely free from chemicals.
“We supply fresh and pure milk” he said, adding that all standard testing procedures were followed by them.
( With inputs from R. Sujatha, Aloysius Xavier Lopez, Zubeda Hamid and Deepa H. Ramakrishnan)
