No WHO Advisory On Milk Adulteration, Centre Terms Media Reports 'False'

The Centre termed a media report "false", that said WHO has issued an advisory stating if adulteration of milk is not checked immediately, 87 percent of citizens will suffer from serious diseases.

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New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday termed a media report "false", that said WHO has issued an advisory to the government stating if adulteration of milk and milk products is not checked immediately, 87 percent of citizens would be suffering from serious diseases like cancer by 2025, as reported by the news agency PTI.

The government is taking all possible steps to help the supply of safe and good quality milk to consumers, the Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Ministry said in a statement.

"It has come to the notice of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying that a media report about a WHO advisory to the Government of India allegedly states that, if adulteration of milk and milk products is not checked immediately, 87 % of citizens would be suffering from serious disease like cancer by the year 2025," it statement read, as reported by PTI.

The dissemination of this kind of false information is creating unnecessary panic among consumers, it added. The issue has already been examined in the department in consultation with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), it said. "WHO country office in India confirmed to FSSAI that no such advisory has been issued by WHO to the Government of India ever," the statement said.

The department said that this kind of false information being circulated on social media and WhatsApp should not be given any credence whatsoever, PTI reported.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and FSSAI is taking all possible steps to help the supply of safe and good quality milk to consumers across the country, the statement said. Milk production in the country has increased from 146.3 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 221.06 million tonnes (66.56 crore litres per day) in 2021-22 with an annual Growth Rate of 6.1 percent.

The department also conducted a study on the demand of milk and milk products in India in 2019. As per the study, the total consumption at the all-India level in 2019 was 162.4 million metric tonnes (44.50 Crore Kg per day) for milk and milk products, as reported by PTI.

Thus, milk production in the country is sufficient to meet the domestic demand, the department added. The quality of milk and milk products sold in the market is governed by standards laid down and enforced by the FSSAI.

According to the nationwide National Milk Safety and Quality Survey conducted by FSSAI, out of 6,432 samples of milk taken, only 12 samples (0.19%) were found adulterated which renders the milk unsafe for human consumption. "While this is a concern it is far from the perception that liquid milk in the country is largely adulterated," the statement said.