Is milk no longer safe to drink?

Alarming traces of pesticides, antibiotics and other toxic substances have been detected in milk and milk products available in the market. The High Court has ordered a nationwide survey to be conducted in this regard over the next 15 days. The High Court rule questions how prudent it was for the health administration to release the survey reports without any specific directives for what is to be done.

The survey was carried out by a team led by Professor Shahnila Ferdousi, head of the government’s National Food Safety Laboratory (NFSL), with technical and financial assistance from the Dutch and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). This alarming report was revealed during a press conference in the presence of the director general of the health directorate on 10 February at the public health institute. The research was conducted on samples collected from 27 upazilas and thanas of four districts including Dhaka.

This news has caused alarm among the consumers all over the country and it is imperative to provide guidelines as to what is to be done, what precautions are to be taken. This responsibility lies with the government, not the researchers.

The research says that 69 to 100 per cent of the cow feed contains pesticides, lead and aflatoxins more than the permissible level. Of the 96 samples of cow milk, 9 per cent had pesticide content higher than normal, 13 per cent tetracycline content and 15 per cent lead content higher than permissible levels. Microbial contaminants were found in 96 per cent of the milk. It was said that even the milk drunk by the calf directly from the cow was unsafe.

There is presence of tetracycline above permissible level in in 30 per cent of the 31 samples of packaged milk being sold in the market Of the 33 yoghurt samples, one was found with traces of lead higher than permissible content and various microbial contaminants in 51 per cent of the samples.

A question was raised at the press conference as to whether children could drink the milk available in the market. The researchers did not come up with a satisfactory answer. It was said, “We have been surviving on this milk.” This is not a matter to be sidestepped so lightly. This is vital when it comes to child health in particular. The government’s health department must have something to say.

Over the past few decades Bangladesh’s dairy industry has been making significant strides ahead and the marketing of milk and dairy products has expanded exponentially. There is ample scope for further advancement. But unless effective measures are in place to ensure the quality of these products, public health will remain at risk.

Permanent measures must be ensured to monitor the entire process from the production to the marketing of milk and dairy products. Cow feed and rearing must be monitored. Traces of pesticide, lead, aflatoxin, etc will be found in the milk of cows which consume feed that contains such substances. It is imperative that cow feed should be safe. Hygiene and other safety measures should be ensured in the collection and the marketing of the milk.

Over the past one year, more than 1400 mobile courts have imposed fines totalling over 12.50 million taka and punished over 2300 persons for adulterated food. But regular monitoring is required to ensure that the dairy industry is healthy and hygienic. It is imperative that the institutions in charge of this task are committed and accountable.