Inspections found 126,000 liters of milk with contaminants

Ecuadornews:

A control operation was carried out this Tuesday, October 9, on the Machachi and Alóag roads, to control the safety of raw milk. These actions are carried out to inspect the primary phase of production in farms, transport and storage centers, until their processing in the industry.

The control was in charge of the Fito and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad) in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the National Police.

Between August and October of this year, 335 operations have been carried out equivalent to 4,801,660 liters controlled, of which 126,000 had problems of contaminants and adulterants. According to the sites with the highest amount of liters of raw milk controlled nationwide, there are six provinces (Pichincha, Azuay, Cotopaxi, Guayas, Carchi and Cañar) that represent 80% of the controlled total in which control will be focused on a second stage, informed Agrocalidad. On Tuesday, October 9, the authorities reviewed more than 58,600 liters of milk: 56,570 liters in the Panamericana Sur, sector of Aychapicho, and 2,050 liters in the Alóag – Santo Domingo highway.

In this last location, 360 liters were confiscated for transporting milk in inappropriate containers (plastic) and for testing positive for protein stability. Rommel Betancourt, general coordinator of Food Safety, stressed that the actions are a process of co-responsibility between producers and control entities.

 “We guarantee the quality of raw milk through road and dairy industries, verifying compliance with regulations.”

On August 29, the ministerial authorities signed the 118 agreement with milk producers and dairies throughout the country, which includes the formation of the National Private Dairy Council, as a proposal to support and build solutions for the dairy cattle sector.

The axes of action are: the market, milk consumption, competitiveness, productivity and marketing, as well as regulation. Agrocalidad urges the public to contact the attention numbers 1800 247600 to denounce the illicit acts against the quality and innocuousness of raw milk. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/operativos-carretera-calidad-leche-cruda