Representative image (IANS)
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought a report from the Andhra Pradesh government and is monitoring the alleged “adulterated milk” incident that led to deaths and hospitalisations in East Godavari district, official sources said, as cited by ANI.Four people have died and nearly 15 others were hospitalised after allegedly consuming contaminated milk in Rajamundry. Authorities also confirmed that no traces of urea have been detected so far in the suspected contaminated milk linked to the deaths and hospitalisations.Preliminary epidemiological findings identified milk consumption as the likely cause of the sudden kidney complications reported among the affected individuals.Authorities have taken a milk vendor from Narasapuram village in Korukonda mandal into custody and seized his unauthorised dairy unit as part of the investigation.Officials said samples have been collected from 75 of the 105 families supplied by the vendor, with testing under way to determine the cause of the suspected illnesses.Rapid response teams comprising the district surveillance officer, medical experts, microbiologists and nephrologists were deployed in the affected areas, officials said. Fourteen field surveillance teams visited nearly 680 houses and screened about 960 families, identifying more than 290 people from 110 families and collecting 315 blood samples for testing.Of the samples collected, 313 were normal, while two showed elevated urea and creatinine levels, the district collector said. The Animal Husbandry Department also formed a team of four veterinary doctors and collected 41 milk samples, along with cattle feed and water samples, which were sent to the Veterinary Biological Research Institute for analysis.”With all departments taking coordinated action, the situation is currently under control,” East Godavari District Collector Keerthi Chekuri, as cited by PTI. Meanwhile, the police also said a chemical coolant leak from a vendor’s freezer may have caused the deaths of four people.The district superintendent of police said the vendor stored milk at his residence in a freezer with two containers and filled six cans from storage tanks for distribution, with some cans containing freshly collected milk.Authorities suspect that one can of contaminated milk may have been supplied to the households where the deaths occurred.
