Ajay Agrawal, a businessman from Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for allegedly manufacturing 500 litres of synthetic milk from one litre of harmful chemicals in a shocking revelation of food adulteration. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has detained Agrawal, owner of Agarwal Traders, after a raid at his shop and storage facilities.
Two Decades of Adulteration
According to officials, UP Businessman, Agrawal had been producing and selling synthetic milk and paneer for nearly 20 years. The adulterated products were made using a mix of hazardous chemicals. Pre-mixed solutions, flavouring agents, and artificial sweeteners were used to mimic the appearance, taste, and smell of genuine milk.
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एक होता है मिलावटी, दूसरा होता है नकली। 100% नकली दूध बनाने का डेमो देखिए। कई केमिकल मिलाकर एक सफेद घोल तैयार हुआ। उसे नेचुरल पानी में डाला और दूध बनकर तैयार। इस 1 लीटर केमिकल से 500 लीटर दूध बनता है। फार्मूला बनाने वाला अजय अग्रवाल गिरफ्तार है।
📍बुलंदशहर, उत्तर प्रदेश pic.twitter.com/00tkeujkGM— शिक्षक वाणी (@sirjistp) December 8, 2024
At that raid, officials showed how Agrawal’s milk formula worked. A pre-mixed white solution containing some unknown chemicals was poured into water along with milk flavouring and other agents to make a bulk-density product that looks remarkably like real milk.
“Using just 5 mg of these chemicals, he could produce up to two litres of synthetic milk,” an FSSAI official explained, adding that expired sweeteners and other harmful substances like caustic potash, milk permeate powder, and refined soya fats were also confiscated.
Expired Ingredients and Public Health Risks
Some of the chemicals that were used, including the sweeteners, had become obsolete. The officials made it clear that such practices posed serious health risks. Agrawal and his colleagues are being interrogated so that the supply chain can be tracked and the buyers of this contaminated milk identified.
We are focusing on tracing where these products were distributed over the past six months,” said FSSAI official Vinit Saxena. The investigation aims to determine how widely the synthetic milk was circulated.
Challenges of Monitoring Unorganised Dairy Sectors
The case highlights the broader problem of adulteration in India‘s unorganised dairy sector, which caters to nearly half the milk production in the country. Lax checks in those sectors help illegal activities like the adulteration of milk carry on unabated, posing substantial public health issues.
Food safety efforts by the officials are on, and bringing the perpetrators of this worrying operation to book is another issue that is being pursued along with that.
