Check on adulterated milk hits a roadblock

KOCHI: The Corporation’s crackdown on the sale of adulterated milk in the city has hit a roadblock as the test results of the milk samples from various sources getting delayed. The samples were submitted by the Corporation officials to the Regional Analytical Laboratory at Kakkanad for testing. Usually, it takes a day to test a sample, but the laboratory is yet to hand over the results of the milk samples. The first sample of milk was given to the laboratory on April 10.“We collected a milk sample from a private company on a particular day so as to know the quality of milk sold by the company on that day. So far, we have collected four milk samples from different companies and have handed them over to the laboratory,” said T K Ashraf, Chairman, Health Standing Committee, Kochi Corporation. He added that the delay might have been caused due to the holidays observed in the week.“The delay might have occurred due to Vishu holiday which was followed by a Sunday. However, we expect to get the test results in a few days’ time,” said Ashraf.Meanwhile, officials with the Regional Analytical Laboratory stated that the laboratory is flooded with samples resulting in the delay. “There are too many samples to be tested. Generally, the time needed to test a milk sample is a day, but we are facing a delay as we have to deal with the other samples too,” said S T Thankachan, Government Analyst, Regional Analytical Laboratory, Kakkanad.