The Army has rejected the consignment of whole milk powder of the Punjab government’s dairy cooperative, Milkfed, which sells its products under the Verka brand, after its samples were allegedly found not to comply with the prescribed standards.
Milkfed supplies dairy products worth around ₹100 crore annually to the armed forces, including milk powder, ghee, and lassi. Milkfed managing director Rahul Gupta said milk product supplies were going to the army earlier, and they are going now as well.
“The state milk cooperative gives utmost priority to the quality of milk and milk products at its plants. The army has found some threads in the powder, used to stitch the bags, following which they rejected the product,” Gupta said.
According to official communication, nearly 125 metric tonnes of milk powder, dispatched from the Verka Milk Plant in Ludhiana, failed to meet the prescribed standards. The supply was made in two consignments of 58.338 MT and 66.654 MT each.
In a letter, a copy of which is with HT, addressed to the Ludhiana District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, the officer commanding of an Army Service Corps unit in Jammu confirmed the rejection. Copies of the communication have also been marked to the chief director, purchase and food inspection organisation, under the ministry of defence.
{{/usCountry}}In a letter, a copy of which is with HT, addressed to the Ludhiana District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, the officer commanding of an Army Service Corps unit in Jammu confirmed the rejection. Copies of the communication have also been marked to the chief director, purchase and food inspection organisation, under the ministry of defence.
{{/usCountry}}The army has further asked Milkfed to collect the rejected samples from the office within seven days. In case of any delay in collection within the stipulated period, the commodities will be destroyed, and no further claims will be entertained, the letter further reads.
“A fact-finding inquiry has been initiated. Milkfed supplies to the army on a regular basis, and the samples are routinely tested. An issue related to extraneous matter was found in one sample. We had the product tested at an approved laboratory, where it was found to be satisfactory. The sample has now been sent to the National Dairy Development Board’s (NDDB) lab in Gujarat for further testing,” Gupta said.
He said milk products are first tested at an NABL-approved laboratory, and then are offered to the Army, and he asserted that there was no issue with the products.
He added that supplies to the Army are continuing as per schedule, with fresh samples being drawn for testing.