Adulterated Milk Seized
Watched by health officials, workers of the Coimbatore Corporation dispose of adulterated milk seized during a drive in the city on Monday. Four teams of officials and staff from the health department of the Coimbatore Corporation seized 1,550 litres of milk from various parts of the city in a drive against adulteration on Monday. The workers poured it into the drainage at the Corporation’s main office to dispose it of. The Corporation said the drive, led by City Health Officer (in-charge) S. Thirukumaran, would continue. Mayor R. Venkatachalam said adulterated milk posed health hazards to people, especially children. The Corporation said it had also sent 12 samples to the food testing laboratory in Salem.Legal action would be initiated against those found guilty of adulteration. More samples would be lifted across the city, it said. Dr. Thirukumaran said 12 Food Inspectors of the Corporation were divided into four teams. Along with other staff of the health wing, the teams seized milk from merchants dealing with bulk quantity, say 150 litres to 200 litres. “We will check the retailers in the next drive,” the official said.
The health teams used lactometers to check the quality of milk. On what items were used for adulteration, Dr. Thirukumaran said the most common one was water. Another form of adulteration was the mixing of packaged milk or soya powder in skimmed buffalo milk. “Cow’s milk is not pure white. To give adulterated milk the natural cream colour, kesari or jelabi mix powder is added to it. The milk turns sour. Children suffer from diarrhoea when they consume it,” he said.
