PHC moved against use of synthetic milk, dead poultry

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) was moved on Thursday against the use of adulterated and synthetic milk and supply of dead poultry from the Punjab province to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A Peshawar-based senior lawyer, Muhammad Khurshid Khan, filed the writ petition, requesting the court to direct the district administration, particularly Peshawar, to inspect all the milk selling shops and conduct laboratory tests on a daily basis.

The petitioner also requested the court to issue direction to the provincial government for establishment of a Food Authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, like the one set up in Punjab, and to establish mobile laboratory units in each district of the province.

He said on January 20, the Peshawar administration disposed of 8,000 litres adulterated milk supplied from the Punjab province after the laboratory tests and receiving results that limestone, cooking oil and sugarcane juice were mixed in the milk.

The petitioner said that about 150 thousand litres milk was being supplied to Peshawar city alone and this milk is used without tests and inspection. It said Pakistan is the fifth largest milk producing country in the world, but unfortunately the milk was adulterated making it injurious to health.

The petitioner further stated that four kinds of milk is used in the country, including loose milk which is used about 93 percent, second is tetra milk packed and used for two to three months period and the third kind of milk is stocked in plastic bags and envelopes, which is only used for three days. The fourth kind of milk, he said, is dry milk, which is used from six months up to a year and above.

The petitioner pointed out that first the owners started adulteration in the milk by injecting the buffaloes and cows to get 20 per cent extra milk. After this, the petitioner said dealers adulterated the milk by mixing urea fertiliser, hydrogen peroxide, aluminium phosphate and formalin and other things.

He claimed synthetic milk is also being sold in the market. Also, the petitioner said there were big poultry farms in Punjab where birds in thousands die. He said the dead poultry is deceitfully sold to dealers in KP at very low prices and brought through containers for distribution in hotels.

He claimed that once the Peshawar administration seized the dead poultry containers, but the dead poultry is being distributed in the entire province. The petitioner requested the court to direct the provincial and district governments to stop the inhuman and unlawful act in the province. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through chief secretary, provincial director general Livestock and Peshawar deputy commissioner were made parties to the petition.