GUWAHATI: A joint operation was conducted by the Assam government’s health & family welfare department and the food safety departments against the sale of adulterated milk in the city. Officials of the departments collected milk samples from various sellers across Guwahati, according to reports on Monday.
Recent reports about milk adulteration in the city were emerging, based on which the two departments jointly launched an operation to check the quality of milk.
According to sources, the team collected samples of milk from the Fancy Bazar and Kumarpara areas of the city, informed a health department official.
After collection, the samples were sent to the food safety department’s laboratory for testing. The test reports of the milk samples are expected to be out within 14 days.
Apart from adulteration in milk, an operation to check the use of harmful chemicals in vegetables was conducted by the concerned department as well. There are reports that chemicals are used to keep the vegetables fresh for a longer duration.
A health department official informed that they have conducted the drive due to the recent rise in the demand for milk in the city, suspecting that the milk sold to consumers might be adulterated to bridge the gap in production. He said they have been carrying out such operations at regular intervals.
“Today we collected milk samples from Kumarpara and Fancy Bazar areas. The collected samples have been sent to Food Safety Department’s laboratory. The results of the test are expected to come within 14 days”, he added.
A few days back, the Greater Guwahati Dairy Farmers' Association had announced a substantial increase in milk prices in Guwahati, India. According to reports, the farmers’ body decided to raise the prices by Rs 5 per litre, driven by the surge in fodder costs, which was posing a challenge for dairy farmers. Subsequently, the new rate for a litre of milk was increased to Rs 58, up from the previous price of Rs 53.
They argued that the increased expenditure on cattle feed has strained their operations, necessitating a revision of milk prices. The consumers are not exactly thrilled.
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