Laboratory testing clears Nandini milk powder of adulteration claims

Testing commissioned by food-safety authorities has cleared Nandini milk powder, produced by the Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (KMF), of the adulteration allegations. The report said the product met the compositional and safety standards set under India’s national food-safety legislation and was safe for human consumption.

On September 26, surveillance officers from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) collected samples from KMF manufacturing facilities and procurement dairies. State health authorities ordered broad analytical checks to assess the product after public concern over the quality of dairy goods. The laboratory findings formally rejected the claims made against the powder.

The analysis found no extraneous chemical adulterants. It confirmed the presence of bovine milk solids and the compositional characteristics required under FSSAI rules, including the balance between casein and whey and the relevant fatty-acid profile. Milk powder is produced in whole-milk and skimmed-milk forms through evaporation and spray drying, processes that reduce moisture to below 4%.

The clearance was issued during a wider period of food-safety surveillance before the autumn festive season. Food departments in southern and western Indian states have expanded inspections of informal sweet producers, cold-storage facilities and ingredient wholesalers. Those checks have included searches for expired materials and synthetic substitutes for dairy ingredients.

KMF is India’s second-largest dairy cooperative federation. It processes millions of litres of milk each day through 16 district milk unions and sells more than 65 product categories under the Nandini brand. Its milk powder is also supplied to Karnataka’s Ksheera Bhagya school-nutrition programme, which provides milk to millions of schoolchildren.

The cooperative’s operations involve nearly 2.6m smallholder dairy farmers in Karnataka. Revenue from processed products, including milk powder, ghee and butter, is returned to producers through payments based on milk fat and solids-not-fat content, together with state-backed incentives. The laboratory report provides the official finding on the product’s safety and composition following the allegations.