Urea, detergent found in samples of milk being sold in Sindh, SHC told

Detergent, sodium chloride and urea were found positive in the rapid tests of samples of milk being sold in different parts of the province, the Sindh Food Authority (SFA) told the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday.

Filing a statement before the SHC on a petition against the sale of milk at increased prices and use of chemicals in milk, the SFA director operations submitted that the authority had conducted several raids on milk shops operating in the city as well as other districts of the province and imposed fines on milk sellers found selling adulterated milk.

The food authority official submitted that the authority had conducted rapid tests during May 1 to May 5 of samples from 134 milk shops of the province, in which 42 samples were found positive with the presence of detergent, sodium chloride and urea. He submitted that more than 400 inspection and raids had been conducted in the province by the authority.

The SFA informed the SHC that a total of Rs145,000 fine was imposed on milk sellers for selling substandard milk and a few shops were seized due to adulteration.

Regarding the fixation of milk price, the Karachi additional commissioner submitted that the wholesale rate of milk was fixed at Rs88.5 per litre whereas the retail price was fixed at Rs94 per litre. He submitted that the Commissioner Office was continuously raiding shops and imposing fines in case of violations of approved rates.

He submitted that milk sellers were also complaining that the wholesale rate was much higher than the fixed price for the retailers therefore it was not possible to sell milk at Rs94 per litre.

He requested time to file a proposed mechanism to resolve the controversy after taking all the stakeholders on board.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar repeated notice to the focal person of the All Karachi Retailers Association to ensure the appearance of its representative on the next hearing.

Petitioner Abdul Sattar Hakim had submitted in the petition that the high court had earlier fixed the milk price at Rs90 per litre as per the government notification; however, milk sellers in different parts of the city were selling milk at Rs140 per litre in violation of the court order.

The petitioner said complaints had been filed before the food authority and the Commissioner Office against the sale of milk at higher rates but no action was taken and instead the Commissioner Office had given a free hand to the milk sellers’ association to sell milk at higher rates.

A counsel for the petitioner informed the SHC that the Commissioner Office had failed to perform its lawful duty of ensuring that milk was sold at the notified price in the city. He added that the illegal sale of milk at higher rates had badly affected the lives of the general public, especially children and infants.

The high court was requested to direct the food authority and Commissioner Office to ensure that milk was sold at the notified price, and restrain the milk sellers from selling milk at higher rates.

The petitioner also requested the SHC to direct the SFA to ensure that milk available at the shops was free of chemicals so that it did not harm children and others.