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FSSAI issues notice to Amul for non-participation in milk fortification
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Thursday, 05 September, 2019, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Khyati Das and Vijetha Iyer, Mumbai
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FSSAI has sent a notice to dairy giant Amul for refusal of its programme of fortification of milk. Amul managing director R S Sodhi recently rejected the plan for fortification by means of artificially infusing nutrients into the milk.
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI, on the sidelines of a programme in Mumbai, said, “We have sent a notice to Amul for not accepting the fortification programme and spreading the wrong message in the dairy industry.”
He added, “FSSAI, being the apex food regulator, all the decisions are made for the betterment of the society. Any decision that we take comes through a host of deliberations, as we have a robust mechanism, wherein 200 members are there in the scientific panel, and after several rounds of considerations, the standards are made.”
Speaking about the milk fortification programme, Sodhi said, “We have declined to be a part of the programme, as we want natural fortification to take place, because we do not use any sort of chemical.”
He added, “The fortification programme is not mandatory. It is voluntary, so we have not taken up the programme.”
“We support FSSAI. They have done a lot on labelling and packaging, but if they make milk fortification mandatory, we will have to file an petition against it,” Sodhi stated.
Meanwhile, Agarwal said, “Amul is basically fortifying two of their products, and their team has the views that they will not fortify the milk. So, we called them on the scientific panel wherein they had sent somebody referring to a research of a post-graduate student on fortification.”
“They have many senior people in Amul. We have to be careful while deciding on the limits. We have sent them a notice so they have to respond. Around 47 per cent of the milk is fortified. Amul should care about the quality,” he added.
“We are concerned about the safety of processed milk. There is large amount of aflotoxins found in many big diaries’ milk. Labels are not a big matter of concern. It is coming from the primary production. Also, the diary company should work closely with the farmers, so that the feed is safe,” Agarwal opined.
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