New Delhi: Leading milk supplier Mother Dairy has fortified its bulk vended milk, also known as token milk, with Vitamin D across the National Capital Region (NCR) to ensure good health of the consumers.
The fortified milk is now available across 795 booths and 1,700 vending units of Mother Dairy in the NCR region and the consumers would not have to bear any additional cost for it.
Besides, the company plans to introduce fortified milk in the poly pack milk category by January next year.
“The newly introduced Vitamin D enriched token milk will be available to masses through our robust network on booths and other vending options across the city with no change in price, making it an apt choice and also the most economical variant fortified with Vitamin A and D,” Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Business Head Sandeep Ghosh said.
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The company is already fortifying its milk with Vitamin A since 1984.
“It costs around 2 paise/litre, which is very minimal and the company could easily bear it,” he added.
Mother Dairy sells around 9 lakh litres of token milk per day from its network of booths and vending machine.
“Out of 9 lakh litre token milk, around 7 lakh is consumed by the people of economically weaker sections (EWS), who have the deficiency of vitamins. Through this nutrition we would reach to these sections,” Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable Chief R&D Officer TSR Murali said.
The move has come after the food regulator fixed the standards of fortification of food on October 16.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has developed comprehensive standards for fortification in wheat flour, rice, edible oil, salt, and milk. It permits milk to be fortified with Vitamin A and D.
The fortified poly pack milk with Vitamin A and D would bear a special logo, Murli said.
According to him, milk is fortified in several developed nations as the US and Canada from over 10 years and it is successful there.
“Going forward, Mother Dairy is also working on fortifying the entire range of poly pack milk and plans to re-launch all its variants with Vitamin A and D by the end of 2016,” Ghosh said.
Mother Dairy will soon launch a campaign highlighting its initiatives aimed to spread awareness on the need of such fortification.
Mother Dairy was commissioned in 1974 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
The company sells milk and dairy products including ice creams, paneer, and ghee under the ‘Mother Dairy’ brand. It is into edible oil business under Dhara brand. Moreover, it sells frozen vegetables, unpolished pulses, and other processed foods under the ‘Safal’ brand.
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