COIMBATORE: Beware of milk products you buy from the nearest stall! The Food Safety Department has found that 30 milk product samples collected for analysis were found to be substandard and misbranded.
The department has collected over 200 samples in the last seven months to test the influence of antibodies administered to the cattle. The officials have initiated legal proceedings against the manufacturers of the substandard products.
Food safety departments regularly collect milk and milk product samples (like paneer, sweets, ice cream) for testing to check for contaminants (detergents, antibiotics, pesticides, heavy metals, melamine) and ensure quality, often conducting large national surveys (like FSSAI's) and local drives, especially during peak demand, to protect consumers from adulteration and enforce standards.
Meanwhile, this month, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directed all states and Union Territories to launch a special nationwide enforcement drive against adulterated milk and milk products. It was directed following the crackdowns of large-scale counterfeit dairy operations in northern states producing fake synthetic milk and milk products. However, the food safety department officials said that they had been conducting raids in Coimbatore for the last seven months.
According to Dr T Anuradha, Designated Officer of the Food Safety Department, Coimbatore district, the department has conducted intensive checking since May 2025. We have collected the samples from 215 dairy units which produce and supply milk and milk products in the Coimbatore district. All the samples were analysed in the laboratory.
The finding shows a violation in 30 samples. In which 18 samples are misbranded, while the remaining 12 were substandard, which means lacking in quality. We have initiated a probe against the violators. The legal action will be taken against them," said Dr Anuradha.
She added that they did not find any serious violations like full adulteration, synthetic milk and excess levels of antibiotics in the milk product samples collected from Coimbatore.