Bhubaneswar: Odisha is among the most-lethargic states in the country in terms of health index set by the NITI Aayog.
According to government statistics, Odisha also lags behind many other states which take care of adequate testing of food items for their quality.
While many states test hundreds of samples of milk, the most commonly adulterated food in the country, the number of food samples Odisha tests does not cross even double digit.
Thus, Odisha fails to punish violators of food safety norms because there is no monitoring mechanism and hence their conviction level poor.
According to the information available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, inspection of milk samples for food safety, adulteration and misbranding is dismal.
The statistics tabled in the Lok Sabha July 19, 2019 stated that Odisha tested and analysed only eight milk samples in 2017-18 and in 2018-19 for adulteration and misbranding.
This comes against the milk samples tested by several other states in thousands. Odisha is nowhere near the huge conviction rate for violation of food safety norms set by other states.
While Odisha conducted eight samples in 2017-19 and 2018-19, other states did hundreds of sample checks to find out traces of adulteration and misbranding of milk which is being consumed by a large section of the population.
The state, apparently, is not keen on testing other food samples for adulteration and misbranding while several states conduct thousands of sample tests to curb general food adulteration and punish unscrupulous trade practitioners.
Implementation and enforcement of Food Safety Act, 2006 primarily rests with the states. There are provisions to undertake regular surveillance, monitoring and inspection by the officials of Food Safety Department to check compliance of the rules laid down under the Act.
“Adulterated milk can affect the human body adversely and wreak havoc with the gastro system leading to development of mild to severe ailment,” said Shiva Sharan, a practicing doctor in Bhubaneswar.
