There is no official complaint on damaged milk supplies, says the dairy federationQuality Control Team tests samples from Madanapalle Plant; says the results are in standards prescribed by FSSAIAP Govt supplies 90 lakh liters of milk per month up from 25 lakh in 2017-18 to AWCs
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Ltd, Mangalagiri has strongly denied that curdled milk packets which allegedly had maggots were supplied to the beneficiaries in Polinadiu Kandriga Anganwadi Centre in KVB Puram Mandal, Tirupati.
Rejecting the claims made by regional media, the federation said, “90 lakh liters of Vitamin A and D enriched Ultra Heat Treated Double Toned Milk are being supplied to the door steps of 55,607 Anganwadi Centres. The milk packaging is of two types i.e., Flexi pack and Tetrapak. The Flexi pack will have a seven-layer Food Grade Thermo Plastic Copolymer film while the Tetrapak have four layers of Food Grade polythene, paper board, and aluminum foil which will have a shelf life of 90 days and 180 days respectively.”
Further, 25,440 liters of milk in Flexi pack (50,880 packs) with batch No. KMV/287/23 and 420 liters of milk in Flexi pack (840 packs) with batch No. KMV/288/23 manufactured on 09.10.2023 dispatched on 19.10.2023 from the Madanapalli plant. After deducting 100 damaged packs (50 liters), 25,810 liters of milk were authenticated to have been received in Pitchatur Stock Point of Tirupathi on 21.10.2023.
Out of the milk received, 25,563.5 liters of milk distributed to 194 AWCs in the Pitchatur ICDS project. The balance of 246.5 liters of milk is available at the stock point godown.
On 21.10.2023, 193 packs (96.5 litres) of milk received in Polinaidu Kandriga AWC (AWC Code. 1019180). The same were issued to 20 beneficiaries (15 Preschool children, 5 Pregnant women).
The beneficiary Hemavathi D/o Sekhar (5-years-old), was given five packets (2.5 liters) of milk as Take Home Ration. The girl has consumed 4 packs of milk, and there are no complaints. On 05.11.2023, the milk in the last pack was claimed to have curdled and had maggots, but when asked by the AWC worker when they went to the house of the beneficiary, the father of the beneficiary is said to have discarded the packet. Apart from the above, there are no other complaints about the distribution of damaged milk packets from anywhere else.
To date, no complaints from any corner of the state about damaged milk supply were reported. As per the SOP issued and followed by the Anganwadi Workers, the chances of distribution of damaged milk packets are very remote. The milk packs in good condition were distributed by the Anganwadi as Take Home Ration to the beneficiaries.
On information about the incident, the Quality Control Team of the Madanapalle plant along with the ICDS officials have visited the village and conducted a door-to-door survey but there are no complaints of any sort about the quality of milk supplied.
The control samples were taken at the time of packing of the milk with Batch Nos. KMV/287/23 and KMV/288/23 in the Madanapalle Plant were tested. The test results are found to conform with the standards prescribed by FSSAI. Besides the sample milk packets at the Pitchatur stock point godown were also tested, which was in good condition.
The photograph published in the regional media does not contain any damaged milk but appears to have contained some other material in the cut-opened milk pack. The news item and the photograph printed are nothing but fabricated ones.
The UHT Milk packing process ensures the elimination of all microbial load and will be packed in a sterile condition without exposure to the outer atmosphere. The milk so packed would be kept for incubation for five days before dispatch to observe the quality of the packed milk. Instructions were also printed on every pack of milk indicating not to use puffed or bulged milk packs and not to consume milk from leaky packs.
According to the official data, “During 2017-18, only 25 lakh liters of milk was supplied every month to lactating mothers, pregnant women, and malnourished children through Anganwadi Centres in the state. After the present Government took charge, besides the pregnant women and lactating mothers, about 13 lakh children between 6 months to 3 years of age group and about 9 lakh preschool children in the age group of 3 yrs to 6 yrs., are being provided with milk through Anganwadi Centres.”
In addition to the above, children in the 77 scheduled manuals are being provided with 200 ml of milk per day under the YSR Sampoona Poshana + scheme. As a result, the milk supplies rose to about 90 lakh liters per month. Out of the 90 lakh liters of milk, 40% will be in Flexi packs while the remaining 60% milk will be supplied in Tetrapak.
To facilitate transparency in supplies arresting misuse and pilferage, a Web and Mobile-based Application was developed with end-to-end encryption. Milk supplies right from the point of loading to the doorsteps of AWCs are being monitored following the supply chain mechanism.
As per the SOP, milk packs shall be received only after verifying for leakage, bulging, etc., and only milk packs in good condition shall be received at the AWC. Once the milk is received, it shall be staked without keeping any weights on the milk packs. If any pack is found damaged, it should be kept away from the milk packs in good condition and only milk packs in good condition need to be distributed to the beneficiaries.
