Bangladeshi police crack down on fake milk

Bangladeshi police have made repeated raids to stamp out production of fake milk containing poisonous chemicals.

Police have sent two people to jail and issued fines totalling $2,500. The counterfeiting continues though and authorities are concerned about the impact on the health of consumers.

“Fake milk is being manufactured in this area for the past one year. We have till now destroyed more than 1,200kg of fake milk and five furnaces where it was made," Rasel Sabrin, Upazila Executive Officer of Shahzadpur, told bdnews24.com.

To make 40L of the fake milk the criminals reportedly mix 37kg of whey with 3kg of fat. Spoons of hydrogen peroxide, flour, sugar, cutting oil and essence are then added along with 50gm of sodium bicarbonate.

After around six hours this mixture will go off so formalin is added as a preservative. Formalin is formaldehyde, a chemical that can damage the gastrointestinal tract, mixed in water. Discovery of the chemical in the fake milk has raised concerns about its impact on consumers.