Contaminated milk, water flow in city[
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Ludhiana, June 24
Aiming to curtail rampant “adulteration”, causing severe ailments to city residents, the district health authorities has collected 20 samples of milk, paneer, dry spices during the surprise checks conducted on hotels and milk vendors in the city.
During the checking of kitchens of hotels, including Gulmohar, Nagpal Regency, East Arm restaurant, health officials took samples of raw material used in various food items and samples for the same have been sent for the laboratory test.
Milk adulteration is all time high this summer, as the increased temperatures bring down the milk yield in dairy animals and the dairy owners and milkmen in order to bridge the gap between demand and supply resort to adulteration.
Acting upon complaints given by residents, the health officials procured samples of milk and paneer from 12 milk vendors on the Chandigarh road and Haibowal road.
It has been established from the reports of failed milk samples taken during last summers that some dairy farmers use mixture of sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, vegetable oil and detergents to increase the volume and fat content of milk, while some use urea mixed with water.
However, the People Forum for Transparency and Social Concern, a city-based NGO that had served a 60-day notice on the ministry of health and family welfare, Punjab, to take action against retailers and wholesalers whose samples of sweetmeat, khoya, paneer, milk, milk products and other grocery items had failed in 2009 has expressed “dissatisfaction” on the action taken by the department.
The forum president MS Gill said, “The department has been given a target of taking 100 samples per month in Ludhiana and the whole practice is an eye-wash, as none of the prominent hotels, restaurants of sweetmeat shops have been checked.”
Gill also said that if the department fails to take action till July 1, the forum will file a public interest litigation (PIL) against the state government in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥