Tamil Nadu Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji, on Monday said the government will continue to test all milk products including State-owned Aavin’s milk to ensure they are free from chemicals.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bhalaji said the government’s intention was not to threaten anyone (private milk manufacturers) but to prevent chemicals from being added to the milk. The minister said yet again that a number of private milk operators were adding different chemicals in milk that was leading to health problems like kidney, liver failures and heart diseases.
When asked if he had any health report that could confirm his stance, he parried the question.
“You now see a lot of 30-year-olds, who are visiting the doctor for kidney problems, heart problems…that is because chemicals like formaldehyde are being used in the milk,” he said. “This is being done in a scientific manner. It is like a silent killer,” the minister alleged. To another query if the government had received a report of the samples apparently sent to a lab in Pune, the minister said the results of the tests would completely change if he divulged when the results would come.
“Some labs refused to take the samples because, before the milk sample reached the testing centre, representatives of private companies reached there first,” Mr. Bhalaji alleged.
He said there were about 70 private milk companies in the State and not all of them were mixing chemicals. “Some of them are not mixing chemicals, but their quality is not up to the mark,” he said, adding that Aavin’s milk was pure.
“If you have any suspicions about Aavin milk, you can personally take it to a private testing centre and get it checked,” Mr. Bhalaji said.
It may be recalled that the Leader of the Opposition and DMK working president M.K. Stalin has already called for a probe by a sitting judge of the High Court into allegations of adulteration by private milk producers.
