- MoI signed with tainted Indian supplier
- Charged with supplying adulterated milk
By Madhusha Thavapalakumar
An Indian milk company whose suppliers were earlier found guilty of contaminating milk with detergent powder has been chosen by the Sri Lankan Government to import milk into the country, The Sunday Morning Business learns.
The Sri Lankan Government entered into three Memorandums of Interest (MoI) with the Tamil Nadu Milk Cooperative Federation, Puducherry Milk Cooperative Federation, and Indian Potash Ltd. on 11 October at New Delhi for the supply of milk and milk-related products.
Aavin milk is the trademark of Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd., a Tamil Nadu-based milk producers’ union, while Puducherry Milk Cooperative Federation owns the PonLait brand.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in 2016 collected 106 samples from suppliers who supply milk for Aavin and other private milk companies. The test was done by six government laboratories approved by FSSAI.
Out of the collected samples, 22 were identified as adulterated with water while two were found to be contaminated with detergent powder. According to Indian news reports, detergent powder is known to increase the fat value of milk.
In addition to this, in 2014, Aavin milk was caught in a major scam while Indian authorities raided the trucks that were carrying supplies to Chennai and found them to be adulterated with water.
Following the incident, nine people who were found to be responsible for the contamination were arrested and the then Indian State Minister of Milk and Dairy Development was stripped of his post by the then Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha.
According to another Indian news report in 2013, the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Association District Secretary had publicly noted that farmers who supply their milk to Aavin were found to be substituting liquid containing chemical powder with milk on a large scale, and Aavin failed to take any measures against it despite continued complaints.
In September last year, the Animal Welfare Board of India noted that around 68.7% of milk and milk products sold in the country were not as per the standards laid down by the FSSAI and 89.2% of it was adulterated with detergent, refined oil, glucose, or white paint.
Moreover, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised the Indian Government that if the adulteration issue was not addressed promptly, 87% of its citizens who consume milk would be suffering from serious diseases by 2025.
According to the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) of Sri Lanka, we lack the necessary technology to identify whether the imported milk is adulterated, and in addition, there aren’t any accredited laboratories where imported milk can be tested.
Moreover, a recent report by the CAA also listed imported milk in the category of “high-risk food items”.
In a related development, the decision to import milk from India has sparked outrage among the local dairy industry.
A senior industry leader, expressing his disappointment to The Sunday Morning Business, claimed that India had been proven to have mixed palm oil and lactose into manufactured milk.
He added that the imported milk powder contains high amounts of chemicals and is devoid of anything nutritious or healthy. He stated that this is made apparent by the fact that they often come with a shelf life of up to two years or even more, which is unnatural.
“When we take locally produced milk powder, the shelf life would be somewhere around six months. I would say even that is too long, as milk that was drawn in the morning gets spoilt by evening. A two-year shelf life is not really practical unless it is filled with chemicals,” he added.
According to the annual reports from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Sri Lanka’s milk and milk powder imports have been growing gradually since 2015 and reached Rs. 54 billion in 2018. In 2015, milk and milk powder imports were accounted at Rs. 34 billion, while it was Rs. 36 billion in 2016 and Rs. 48 billion in 2017.
Meanwhile, national milk production was also on the rise as it reached a record high of 471.5 million litres in 2018, from 396 million litres a year prior, and the number keeps growing gradually.
All attempts to reach the Ministry of Health, Nutrition, and Indigenous Medicine were futile.
The Sri Lankan Government entered into three Memorandums of Interest (MoI) with the Tamil Nadu Milk Cooperative Federation, Puducherry Milk Cooperative Federation, and Indian Potash Ltd. on 11 October at New Delhi for the supply of milk and milk-related products.
Aavin milk is the trademark of Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd., a Tamil Nadu-based milk producers’ union, while Puducherry Milk Cooperative Federation owns the PonLait brand.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in 2016 collected 106 samples from suppliers who supply milk for Aavin and other private milk companies. The test was done by six government laboratories approved by FSSAI.
Out of the collected samples, 22 were identified as adulterated with water while two were found to be contaminated with detergent powder. According to Indian news reports, detergent powder is known to increase the fat value of milk.
In addition to this, in 2014, Aavin milk was caught in a major scam while Indian authorities raided the trucks that were carrying supplies to Chennai and found them to be adulterated with water.
Following the incident, nine people who were found to be responsible for the contamination were arrested and the then Indian State Minister of Milk and Dairy Development was stripped of his post by the then Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha.
According to another Indian news report in 2013, the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Association District Secretary had publicly noted that farmers who supply their milk to Aavin were found to be substituting liquid containing chemical powder with milk on a large scale, and Aavin failed to take any measures against it despite continued complaints.
In September last year, the Animal Welfare Board of India noted that around 68.7% of milk and milk products sold in the country were not as per the standards laid down by the FSSAI and 89.2% of it was adulterated with detergent, refined oil, glucose, or white paint.
Moreover, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised the Indian Government that if the adulteration issue was not addressed promptly, 87% of its citizens who consume milk would be suffering from serious diseases by 2025.
According to the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) of Sri Lanka, we lack the necessary technology to identify whether the imported milk is adulterated, and in addition, there aren’t any accredited laboratories where imported milk can be tested.
Moreover, a recent report by the CAA also listed imported milk in the category of “high-risk food items”.
In a related development, the decision to import milk from India has sparked outrage among the local dairy industry.
A senior industry leader, expressing his disappointment to The Sunday Morning Business, claimed that India had been proven to have mixed palm oil and lactose into manufactured milk.
He added that the imported milk powder contains high amounts of chemicals and is devoid of anything nutritious or healthy. He stated that this is made apparent by the fact that they often come with a shelf life of up to two years or even more, which is unnatural.
“When we take locally produced milk powder, the shelf life would be somewhere around six months. I would say even that is too long, as milk that was drawn in the morning gets spoilt by evening. A two-year shelf life is not really practical unless it is filled with chemicals,” he added.
According to the annual reports from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Sri Lanka’s milk and milk powder imports have been growing gradually since 2015 and reached Rs. 54 billion in 2018. In 2015, milk and milk powder imports were accounted at Rs. 34 billion, while it was Rs. 36 billion in 2016 and Rs. 48 billion in 2017.
Meanwhile, national milk production was also on the rise as it reached a record high of 471.5 million litres in 2018, from 396 million litres a year prior, and the number keeps growing gradually.
All attempts to reach the Ministry of Health, Nutrition, and Indigenous Medicine were futile.