A newspaper clipping, claiming that maximum Indians are going to suffer from cancer by 2025 due to the contaminated milk that comes in packets, is doing the rounds on social media. It is also claimed that the statement was made by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The title of the newspaper article reads: दूध नहीं जहर पीता है इंडिया, उत्पादन 14 करोड़ लीटर लेकिन खपत 64 करोड़ लीटर. WHO की चेतावनी- बंद नहीं हुई मिलावट तो 87% भारतीयों को 2025 तक होगा कैंसर (English version: India drinks poison, not milk. Production is 14 crore litres but consumption is 64 crore litres. WHO warns — If adulteration is not stopped, then 87% of Indians will have cancer by 2025.)
The link to the post can be seen here. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile did the fact-check, and found it to be fake.
Searching with keywords, the NM team identified an advisory issued by WHO refuting the viral claim. The advisory reads: “Contrary to reports in a section of media, WHO would like to state that it has not issued any advisory to the Government of India on the issue of adulteration of milk/milk products.”
Also, a press release by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, dated January 19, 2023, reads: “In this regard, the department has informed that this matter has already been examined in the Department in consultation with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The WHO country office in India confirms to FSSAI that no such advisory has been issued by WHO to Government of India ever.”
The statement further reads: “The Department has reiterated that this kind of false information being circulated in the social media and on WhatsApp should not be given any credence whatsoever. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India and FSSAI are taking all possible steps to help supply of safe and good quality milk to the consumers across the country.”
We also found that in Lok Sabha, on November 22, 2019, a question regarding people in India getting cancer due to adulterated milk was raised by the MPs — Bidyut Baran Mahato and Sanjay Sadavshiv Rao Mandlik. The question was: “Whether the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently issued an advisory to the government stating that if adulteration of milk and milk products is not checked immediately, 87 per cent of citizens may suffer from serious diseases like cancer soon.”
The then minister of health and family welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, had refuted the claim and replied: “No such advisory has been issued by WHO to the Government of India and the same has been confirmed from WHO country office in India by the FSSAI.”
“The nationwide milk safety and quality survey conducted by FSSAI in 2018 revealed that only 7% (456 out of total 6,432 samples) had contaminants (antibiotics, pesticides and aflatoxin M1) that make milk unsafe for consumption. Only 12 out of 6,432 samples had adulterants that affect the safety of milk. These 12 samples include six samples adulterated with hydrogen peroxide, three samples adulterated with detergents, two samples adulterated with urea and one sample was found to have neutralisers,” Dr Vardhan added.
According to another report by Business Today, dated October 18, 2019, FSSAI discovered that adulteration and higher-than-allowable levels of antibiotic residues in milk continue to be an issue in the country, although the cases may be far less than commonly assumed.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is fake.
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