Milk adulteration racket busted in Jagatsinghpur
Kendrapada: Authorities in Jagatsinghpur district uncovered a major adulteration racket during a raid at a milk chilling centre, seizing 50 bags of synthetic milk powder and large quantities of adulterated milk.Acting on a tip-off, a team led by sub-collector Prasanta Tarei and district food safety officer Sasmita Das, accompanied by local police, conducted the raid at Tarasahi village under Balikuda police station limits. The centre’s owner, Ulash Das (40), fled the scene when the officials arrived.Tarei said Das had been collecting around 2,000 litres of milk daily from local villagers for supply to the OMFED milk chilling plant at Ambasala. “Investigation revealed that Das was adulterating the collected milk with synthetic milk powder and water before supplying it to OMFED,” Tarei said.Sasmita said that samples have been sent for laboratory testing. “We suspect the illegal operation has been running for a considerable time,” she stated, adding that using milk powder for anything other than ice-cream preparation violates food safety regulations.The authorities emphasised that adulterated milk poses significant health risks, particularly to children and elderly people. “This is a serious violation of food safety norms that cannot be overlooked,” Sasmita said.Authorities are working to apprehend the centre’s owner.
