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Punjab continues to be a land where the mother believes that her child will grow up to be strong and healthy only if he has gulped two tall glasses of milk; dipped his roti and dal into dollops of butter/ghee; fortified his meal with generous helpings of curd or slurps of creamy makhan-laced lassi; where guests are proudly served tea that is basically doodh-patti, and green tea is dismissed offhand as a fad. No table is considered special if it does not boast of a rich dish of paneer and milk/ghee/khoya-based dessert. No wonder, the concept of a household’s status being directly proportional to its herd of cows and buffaloes has been defenestrated but Punjab leads the country in milk availability.
Of course, to stay healthy after consuming all this, people need to balance out with an active lifestyle. But, unfortunately, that is not enough to ward off disease. They are facing another life-threatening devil — adulteration of milk and milk products (MMP). It is playing havoc with their wellbeing. Despite regular raids and warnings, there seems to be no improvement in the quality of the ‘white trade’. The latest round of seizures and tests reveal an alarming figure: 60 per cent of the MMP samples failed on the hygiene score, they were substandard.
Impure eatables affect us all. It is criminal to let this state of affairs carry on with impunity. Not only do those violating food and safety norms need to be dealt with strictly, even those under whose watch this is being allowed to thrive must be held accountable, right from the inspector to the minister. But the conviction rate is abysmally low. Businesses of suspect traders must be sealed during the case pendency. Spurious food has serious repercussions. From simple dilution of milk with dirty water to tackling the pesticides entering the food chain, each level needs cleaning up. It would be a sad day if another PT Usha were to go on to lament losing a sporting medal to unhygienic food.
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