State-wide milk safety drive after deaths in Andhra Pradesh
State-wide milk safety drive after deaths in Andhra Pradesh
Milk vendors across AP face a three-day safety drive as authorities test for adulteration following elderly deaths linked to tainted milk.
The Institute of Preventive Medicine launched a state-wide drive on Wednesday after four elderly people died due to acute renal failure linked to adulterated milk in Rajahmundry. The operation targets milk vendors, storage operators, and wholesale dealers, with 43 food safety officers collecting samples for spot analysis over three days.
Each officer is tasked with gathering 12 samples using special kits, focusing on unpackaged milk. If adulteration is found, reports will be sent to NABL-accredited labs to pursue prosecution, though there is no NABL-accredited lab in the state; samples will be sent to labs in Hyderabad and a lab managed by JNTU in Kakinada.
The drive has a target of 500 samples. On the first day, nearly 150 milk samples were collected and dispatched to labs in Chennai, Kakinada, and Hyderabad. In Anantapur, quality issues were found in nearly 100 litres of milk at two locations, leading to disposal of spoiled or substandard milk.
In Machilipatnam, 20 litres of Badam milk were found defective, and in Kakinada, 5 kg of substandard milk powder was seized. Action will be taken against those found guilty of adulteration.
