SC seeks response from 5 states on sale of adulterated milk by July 31

Port Blair/ New Delhi, July 5: The Supreme Court, on July 2, 2013, expressed concern over the sale of adulterated milk all over the country and sought response from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi by July 31in this regard.

This was in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Swami Achyutanand Tirth on behalf of the Swami Bhumanand Dharmarth Chikitsalya and Research Institute in Haridwar.

The SC has also sought response from the apex food body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), about milk adulteration and production of synthetic milk.

In a situation wherein adulteration is looming large over the country, the question arises as to whether Government Institutions/ Organisations, Govt. Aided Organisations can be exempted from the food safety and standards rules.

ANIIDCO is the largest seller of milk in the islands, supplying tonnes of litres of milk every day across the city and suburbs. It also is the sole distributor Indian Manufactured Foreign Liquors (IMFL) in the entire islands, which is entitled for quality check being produced from malt.

Apart from ANIIDCO, there are govt. hospitals, guest houses across the islands, which prepare and supplies food to people. But surprisingly these organisations in Andaman & Nicobar Islands have been exempted by the state to fall under the guidelines of Food Safety and Standards Authority, which otherwise is mandatory for any private organisation in the business, be it be a small dhaba.

With adulteration looming large over the country, should the A&N Administration not insist its organisations to have valid ‘Food Safety & Standards Certification’ or ‘Licence’ from the State Food Safety Authority? Or can it be taken for granted that the food /food products prepared and sold by govt. institutions is safe?