Mumbai: FDA Cracks Down on Adulterated Milk at City Entry Points; Over 1.5 Lakh Litres Inspected

In a bid to ensure the supply of unadulterated milk to citizens, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a special inspection drive at three key entry points of Mumbai during the early hours of Wednesday. Under this operation, approximately 1.5 lakh litres of milk being brought into the city were checked for quality.

As part of the drive, a total of 108 milk samples—including pouches from reputed brands, bagged milk, and loose milk—were collected for analysis. The FDA stated that appropriate legal action will be taken based on the results of the laboratory reports.

Rising instances of milk adulteration in Mumbai have raised serious health concerns. To prevent adulterated milk from reaching consumers, the special operation was carried out under the guidance of Food and Drug Administration Minister Narhari Zirwal. The drive took place from midnight of April 1 to the early hours of April 2 at the Mankhurd, Dahisar, and Airoli check posts—three of the main gateways into the city.

During the operation, officials inspected 79 milk-carrying vehicles, which were transporting a combined 1,51,894 litres of milk. Samples were collected from both branded and unpackaged milk stocks. Notably, Minister Narhari Zirwal himself participated in the checks conducted at the Dahisar check post.

FDA Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar confirmed that once the test results are received, strict action will be taken against any product found to be substandard or adulterated, in accordance with legal provisions.

At Mankhurd, the highest number of vehicles—51 in total—were inspected, covering a milk stock of 1,04,538 litres. At Dahisar, 10 vehicles carrying 27,704 litres were checked, while Airoli saw inspections of 18 vehicles with a total of 19,652 litres of milk.

Due to a manpower shortage in the Greater Mumbai division, the drive was conducted with support from officers of the Thane office under the Konkan Division’s Joint Commissioner (Food) Shrikant Karkale. Mumbai’s Joint Commissioner (Food) Mangesh Mane informed that such operations will continue in the future to ensure the availability of safe and quality food products to the public.