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MUMBAI: A public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay High Court against largescale adulteration of milk. It urged the court to direct setting up of an agency to certify milk with a 'Milk Mark' which would ensure quality and a 24-hour helpline for complaints. The PIL was filed by homeopath Dr Sreedevi Mehta, chemical engineer Karan Doshi and Vidhvatta Malhotra, a homemaker who has a two-year-old child. The state, commissioners for Food Safety and Food and Drugs Administration, the BMC and ministry of health and family welfare have been made parties. The petitioners said they became aware after reading news reports about the alarming portions of mass adulteration of milk that is consumed by almost every household in the city. They were "shocked and aghast", to learn that the National Milk Survey found nearly 70% of 1,791 samples picked up from 33 states and union territories had failed to conform to Food and Safety Standards Authority of India. "It is a very sorry state of affairs wherethough unknowingly people are consuming urea, detergents, bad sugar, harmful chemicals and several other contaminants by drinking adulterated milk every day," the petition states. The petitioner urged that like AGMARK, which is a quality certification for agricultural products, milk must also be certified by a 'Milk Mark', certified by an authority at the state-level. They also urged for a 24-hour helpline for people to register complaints so that raids, if necessary, are conducted and the guilty booked. The PIL was mentioned by their advocate Advait Sethna before a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi and has been posted for hearing on January 25. |
| SOURCE: The Times of India |
