The levels of bacteria and coliform count are way above permissible limits in milk, as per the results of the purity tests which were undertaken on seven leading brands, revealed NGO.

Ludhiana-based NGO Consumer Protection Force highlighted the level of contamination in packaged milk available in the market. NGO stated that purity tests undertaken on the topmost brands both of co-operative and private sectors, has more than prescribed levels of bacteria and coliform.

NGO President Rajiv Tandon refused to disclose the names of the brands, as the NGO did not want to mark any particular manufacturer, as all the seven samples were equally contaminated. The samples were sent to the SGS Labs in Gurgaon on May 3 and the results were declared on May 10.

The milk was tested on two basic parameters, one was the total plate count, which reveals the total bacteria count in the milk, and the other was the coliform count in milk, which indicated the sanitary conditions in dairy production and processing environments.

Tandonsaid, “Some coliforms can cause illness in people, especially young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. They may cause abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and acute kidney failure in severe cases”.

Sanjeev Ghanoli, Chairman of the Consumer Protection Force discussed about the possible solutions. He shared that the milk companies should start adopting modern milking and packaging techniques.