Adulteration of Sweets, Milk and Milk Products in Festive Season

The festive season comes along with a wide array of sweets and its mélange of flavors which brings delight and sweeten up the festive vibes but what if this joy is wrapped with apprehension of adulteration with harmful additives which can gradually deteriorate the health of consumers.

- Dr Saurabh Arora

It is a fact that we often hear about surprise inspections of sweet manufacturers and sellers where adulterated and contaminated milk products are detected. This in turn creates distrust among consumers towards sweets sellers and manufacturers. Indeed, it smears the authenticity and reputation of any food business.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “if milk adulteration is not halted in India, a major portion of the population might face life-threatening diseases by the year 2025”.

The need of the hour is to curb the adulteration especially during the festive season as the consumption of sweets and milk products escalates during this time.

A GLANCE AT INITIATIVE OF FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA (FSSAI)

Recently, FSSAI has issued several guidelines to gear up the vigilance on adulteration amid festive season. The apex authority of food has requested the Commissioners of Food Safety of all States/UTs, Central Licensing Authorities and all Regional Directors of the FSSAI to ensure that a strict vigil is maintained in their respective jurisdictions to avoid any laxity on the manufacture and sale of sweets, milk and milk products.

The FSSAI has exhorted them to conduct periodic surveillance/enforcement drives. Moreover, it has also been suggested to install Food Safety on Wheels (FSW) in prominent markets. The mobile laboratory will be fully equipped for quality testing to detect adulteration of food products in a jiffy. The idea is to ensure that such products are safe to consume thereby gaining trust of consumers across the country.