The decades old notion of tetra-pack milk being safe just got busted
It is indeed appalling to find out that almost 70% of the milk sold in Pakistan is adulterated. The majority of packed milk brands sold in Pakistan are found to be hazardous to health, which is why we’ve seen many petitions filed in the court against their sale in markets.
Recently, Barrister Zafarullah Khan presented a petition to the two-member bench (headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar) regarding the amalgamation of toxic chemicals and substances in packaged milk. The startling reports of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) have also been presented in the court, which reveal that the components of tetra pack milk brands include the component of detergents, heavy metals and toxic chemicals, which are hazardous for health. For instance, the Punjab Food Authority discovered that Haleeb Milk contains a chemical (named formalin), which is used for the preservation of dead bodies.
Unfortunately, this kind of activity is not only limited to Haleeb Milk but other brands as well such as Gourmet, Adams, Doce, Al-Fazal Food, Anhaar Milk, Al-Fajr, Achaa Milk, Nurpur also observe unhealthy and unsafe practices. The presence of hazardous substances, sugarcane juice and formalin in these milk brands have also been reported by Punjab Food Authority. The recent reports on pasteurised milk samples revealed by the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) have confirmed that the afore-mentioned milk brands are unfit for health. In fact, among the pasteurised milk samples taken, only Prema was found to be safe, healthy and therefore edible for human consumption by the PCSIR.
The recent screening of milk contents by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore (UVAS) has also confirmed that the pasteurised packaged milk brands such as Nurpur, Gourmet, Doce, Adams and Anhaar Milk contain sugarcane and hazardous metals. Likewise, Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT) milk samples such as Haleeb Milk, Nurpur and Nestle Milk Pack have also been confirmed by UVAS to contain heavy metals, formalin and sugarcane juice.
Such terrifying reports signal that the consumption of the packaged milk brands in Pakistan entails a health cost. Drinking milk, which is deemed to be a rich source of calcium, is now equivalent to ingesting poison. The outbreak of cancer and hepatitis C is likely to be common amongst the citizens as a result of consumption of such substandard packaged milk products. Woe to the manufacturers of these brand owners, who do not even recognise the ensuing health cost of adulteration of dangerous substances in the milk!
It is indeed a matter of grave concern to note that the milk manufacturers seem to be bent upon maximising their revenues and profits by selling substandard milk products in the market. They are ignorant of the health damage caused by the consumption of milk comprising dangerous and unhealthy substances. It is a pity that living in an Islamic Republic, they utterly seem to be negligent of Islamic rulings regarding the manufacturing process and regarding the sale of safe, fit and healthy products!
The reports of adulteration in the packaged milk brands sold in Pakistan contradict the decades older notions of tetra milk brands being pure and therefore safe. These are now entailing a severe health hazard, which in the long run is likely to force people to quit consumption of milk.
Such an appalling scenario needs to be addressed immediately by the government. The government should strictly instruct all the quality control centers to regularly take milk samples of all the brands to check for any hazardous adulteration, and report to the concerned authorities for taking action against milk companies selling unfit milk in the market. Besides this, other products of the milk companies selling adulterated milk should be banned, and legal proceedings against them should be continued till they do not rectify their products. The food authorities should also make unannounced and random visits of the milk plants to inspect the quality of the milk products, and report any hazardous amalgamation in them. These measures, if implemented effectively and with hindsight, can improve the quality of the milk products sold in the market.
A very ignorant and immature article. The Wikipedia generation hardly even tries to get the facts right. Go check the details of supreme court. Go check what milk is. Go check why it is adulterated. and please avoid general statements. if you are aware of the effects of adulterated milk on health… give out the details. Just because you can write doesn't give you the liberty to write anything. Time to grow up, perhaps!!
Comments are closed.