It has come to the notice of Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying , Ministry of Fisheries, 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 citizen would be suffering from serious disease like cancer by the year 2025. Dissemination of this kind of false information is creating unnecessary panic among the consumers.

In this regard, the Department has informed that this matter has already been examined in the Department in consultation with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).  WHO country office in India confirmed to FSSAI that no such advisory has been issued by WHO to Government of India ever.

The Department has  reiterated that this kind of false information being circulated in the social media and on WhatsApp should not be given any credence whatsoever. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India and FSSAI are taking all possible steps to help supply of safe and good quality milk to the consumers across the country.

Moreover, as per Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2021 published by the Department the daily milk production in the country during 2018-19 was 51.4 crore Kg per day and not 14 crore litres per day as mentioned in the above mentioned news report. 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 the annual Growth Rate of 6.1%. The Department had also conducted a study on Demand of Milk and Milk Product in India during 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. Thus, Milk Production in the country is sufficient to meet the domestic demand.
The Quality of milk and milk products to be sold in market is governed by Standards laid down and enforced by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). In the last nation-wide National Milk Safety and Quality Survey(NMQS-2018) conducted by FSSAI, out of 6,432 samples of milk taken, only 12 samples (0.19%) were found adulterated that render the milk unsafe for human consumption. While, this is a concern but it  is far from the perception that liquid milk in the country is largely adulterated.

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SS/IG