Maharashtra’s average daily milk procurement has declined by more than 7.5 lakh litres within a month following a statewide crackdown by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against adulterated milk, according to data from the state Dairy Development Department.
Officials said the sharp decline indicates that a significant quantity of adulterated milk, allegedly prepared using harmful chemicals, may have been entering the state’s supply chain and being consumed by people.
Over the past two months, the FDA has conducted raids across several parts of Maharashtra against milk adulteration. The department inspected around 360 establishments, seized 1,60,329 litres of adulterated milk worth INR 65.17 lakh, suspended 35 licences, and registered seven FIRs.
During the raids, officials reportedly found that illegal synthetic milk-making networks were mixing skimmed milk powder with substances such as contaminated water, urea, vegetable oil, detergent and shampoo to prepare adulterated milk.
According to the monthly report of the Dairy Development Department, average daily milk procurement dropped from 17.923 million litres in May 2026 to 17.172 million litres in June 2026 a decline of around 7.51 lakh litres per day.
Compared with January, when the average daily procurement stood at 18.923 million litres, the fall is around 1.8 million litres per day.
Officials from the Animal Husbandry Department said Maharashtra’s average daily milk collection had increased over the past three years, rising from 13.1 million litres to 17.1 million litres. However, the sudden decline after the FDA action has raised questions over whether the earlier increase was partly driven by adulterated milk entering the market.
An Animal Husbandry Department official said the decline was linked to the FDA’s extensive campaign against milk adulteration, particularly targeting collection centres operating in the unorganised sector.
The official clarified that the department does not have authority to take action against milk adulteration. Its role is limited to implementing dairy development schemes and monitoring the process of milk collection and transportation from farmers and large dairy farms to procurement centres.
The FDA has the legal authority to act against food and milk adulteration, though officials said enforcement remains challenging due to manpower shortages.
Meanwhile, according to Maharashtra’s Economic Survey 2025-26, the state’s annual milk production has increased by around 68% over the past decade, rising from 10.1 million metric tonnes in 2015-16 to 16.6 million metric tonnes in 2024-25.
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