Mumbai: Maharashtra’s average daily milk procurement has dropped by over 750,000 litres in a month, following a statewide crackdown on adulterated milk by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to data from the state’s dairy development department. Officials said the data indicates that a large amount of adulterated milk, prepared with hazardous chemicals, was being sold and consumed in the state.
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The FDA has launched a crackdown on adulterated milk in several parts of Maharashtra over the last two months. The agency has inspected around 360 establishments, seized 160,329 litres of adulterated milk worth ₹65.17 lakh, suspended 35 licences and registered seven FIRs.
Against this backdrop, the dairy development department’s monthly data report shows the average daily milk procurement dropped from 17.923 million litres in May 2026 to 17.172 million litres in June, a decline of 751,000 litres a day. Compared with January, when average daily procurement stood at 18.923 million litres, the decline is 1.8 million litres a day.
The decline in daily milk collection is a result of the FDA’s large-scale drive against milk adulteration, particularly targeting collection centres in the unorganised sector, said an official from the animal husbandry department.
The official also clarified that the department does not have the authority to take action against milk adulteration. Its role is limited to implementing dairy development schemes and overseeing the collection of milk from farmers and large dairy farms up to the procurement centres. The FDA has the legal authority to act against food and milk adulteration, but enforcement is a challenge due to manpower shortage, the official added.
According to Maharashtra’s Economic Survey 2025-26, tabled in March, the state’s annual milk production increased by about 68% over the past decade, from 10.1 million metric tonnes in 2015-16 to 16.6 million metric tonnes in 2024-25.
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During the raids, officials found that synthetic milk production syndicates were using hazardous ingredients such as skimmed milk powder, vegetable oil, detergent, and shampoo, mixed with contaminated water and fertilisers like urea.
On the other hand, officials from the animal husbandry department said that Maharashtra’s average daily milk procurement increased from 13.1 million litres to 17.1 million litres over the last three years. They said the sharp drop following the FDA’s crackdown has raised questions about whether the earlier hike was due to adulterated milk.
