And now, UP FDA finds detergent in Mother Dairy milk sample

Continuing its probe into food contamination, the Food and Drug Administration authorities in Uttar Pradesh are reported to have found detergent in one of the samples of Mother Dairy's milk packets.

''Results showed that the samples were sub-standard and one of the two contained detergent,'' PTI quoted UP FDA official in Agra, Ram Naresh Yadav, as saying.

FDA is reported to have picked up the samples from Mother Dairy's collection centres in Bah in November 2014.

''The samples were first sent to Lucknow and later to Kolkata on the demand of the company,'' Yadav said.

Delhi-based Mother Dairy, however, categorically denied any adulteration of milk it supplies in pouches.

 ''Mother Dairy milk undergoes four levels of thorough testing at various levels - input, processing, dispatches and even at market level, Sandeep Ghosh, the head of Milk, Fruits and Vegetables Section at Mother Dairy in Delhi was quoted as saying.

Every tanker of milk reaching at plants passes a series of 23 stringent quality tests to check any deviation from defined parameters. These tests assist in detecting contamination of milk through water, urea, detergent, oil, etc, he said.

The Mother Dairy official also underlined that being a 'responsible' organisation, the company follows ''100 per cent testing protocol rather than resorting to random testing procedures''.

''For any such adulteration, the milk is immediately rejected from further action,'' he added.

Mother Dairy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board.