According to the details, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) food department previously fined around 46 dairy farms which were supplying adulterated milk to the capital, and some were temporary sealed by the authorities.
According to the ground data collected by Naya Daur, around 50000 liters of adulterated milk supplying from different cities of Punjab on low prices while 20000 liters of milk is being supplied by the dairy farms established inside Islamabad which are supplying one kilogram of milk for 40 rupees.
Samples of the Irfan Dairy Farm, the biggest farm supplying group in Islamabad, were collected by Naya Daur along with 5 other samples from the market. These samples were biologically inspected from a reputed lab which were not only marked adulterated but also considered unfit for human health.
The Lactometer Reading (LR) is a technique on the basis of which the ratio of water is checked in milk. According to LR results, the ratio of water in the collected milk samples was between 20 per cent and 28 per cent. Under the law, the allowed level has to be below 14 per cent.
According to Punjab Pure Food (PPF), the minimum ratio of fats required in milk should be at least 5 per cent while most samples failed to fulfill this. The ratio of fats in the assessed milk samples ranged from 0.6 per cent to 2.8 per cent.
The documents further revealed that according to PPF laws, the ratio of solids should be at least 14 per cent in milk. However, ratio in the said sample of milk ranged from 5.1 per cent to 9.12 per cent which is not only below standards but also toxic for human health.
An investigation revealed that most of the dairy farms have no water purification plants and the contaminated water is directly used in the milk.
On the condition of anonymity, a source in the National Institute of Health (NIH) revealed that 80 per cent of the milk being supplied to tea stalls and restaurants is contaminated and hazardous for human health. “This milk is being sold to the buyers for Rs40 per kg which is not only hurting human health but is also promoting corrupt business practices,” the source added.
The source also said that, “we received around 85 samples from Food department in this year in which 54 samples were not only adulterated but as well unfit for human health”. This is the standard in the capital what will be the environment in other cities.
It is pertinent to mention that the ICT Food Authority Bill is still in process in Parliament because these days for whole ICT only 2 officials are working to monitor the whole city which population are round about 2 million.
The ICT administration some months ago confiscated around 12000 KG dry powder smuggled from Gujrat India in a dairy farm while the accused was released by the authorities within a week.
Naya Daur made various attempts to get an official version of the ICT but no one was ready to comment on the issue.