Substandard loose milk blamed for frequent hospital visits in Multan

MULTAN: People in the city have been reporting an increased incidence of falling sick after consuming contaminated fresh milk available loosely everywhere, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to hospitals, hazardous loose milk has frequented the occurrence of diarrhea, constipation, and other stomach-related diseases.

Reportedly the citizens of Multan are annoyed by the blatant sale of contaminated loose milk without government authorities keeping a check on food and hygiene standards.

It is said the sanitary conditions across milk sale points are too poor to keep milk consumable for people.

Citizens have said the sale and standard of loose milk vary depending on its retail prices. Milk available for Rs90 to -110 is relatively better for consumption, they said.

The general sale of substandard contaminated milk has notably raised the frequency of people, especially children, falling sick and complaining of stomach upsets.

It is said that if the administration does not timely respond to the widespread grievance of substandard loose milk, the days to come may report an alarming increase in people with diseases caused by hazardous milk consumption.

A report covering milk sales in the city determined that loose milk available for Rs70 is contaminated and adulterated while the ‘variant’ available for up to Rs110 was fresh and pure. Which, if true, raises a gamut of objections at city and district authorities.

READ: Health expert recommends packaged milk due to ‘safety, hygiene standards’

On the other hand, the secretary-general of Pakistan Medical Association, Dr Qaiser Sajjad, has recommended packaged milk instead of consuming unpasteurized and raw milk came from dairy shops and local farms.

Dr Qaiser Sajjad, while talking to ARY News programme ‘Sawal Yeh Hai’, said that raw and unpasteurized milk is extremely hazardous for human health as the whole process from milking to its supplies to the consumers is unhygienic and unhealthful.

“You will find no compliance of health safety and hygiene standards for production and supplies of raw milk. In dairy farms, they used to inject cattle for increasing the production of milk which leads to diseases.”