Caution: Not all labels are trustworthy! Before you lose sleep over the rising milk prices in India, there’s another nightmare taking a destructive shape. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in August 21, 2024 issued a shocking directive to remove A1 and A2 types of milk labels (Mrinalini Dhyani, 2024).

However, FSSAI withdrew the claims 5 days later with no prior notice. The biggest controversy behind FSSAI’s 6-month deadline still remains unsolved.

Let’s understand the possible reasons behind such a directive!

Factors suspecting FSSAI’s move on the A1 and A2 milk labels

Accessed from: Ambvani, 2024 | Hindu Business Line

Under No.18 (1) 2018/FSSAI Complaints, the Regulatory Compliance Division received several misleading claims on milk license scams from Twitter and Facebook. Based on it, FSSAI announced the ban of A1 and A2 labels of milk, yogurt, and ghee products in India (Jayakumar, 2024).

On August 26, 2024, FSSAI re-announced this directive by withdrawing the 6-month notice and letting all dairy products continue in the market. The quality of dairy products in India is a big concern now! Despite a violation of ‘The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006’, FSSAI silenced the media coverage on milk labels.

A1 and A2 labels: The Dairy Labeling Controversy

India Today reported a 6-month notice provided to FMCG companies for eliminating A2 label-based ghee and dairy products. This fuelled more suspicion regarding FSSAI’s sudden quality improvement initiative. Moreover, the regulatory body’s decisions lacked consistency, requiring further consultation with stakeholders for final approval.

Therefore, the top queries for dairy manufacturers and wholesalers are:

  1. Why FSSAI didn’t establish scientific panels initially as per section 13?
  2. Despite allegations, what made the prosecution flip from charging these brands using misinformation labels under section 80?
  3. Even though the Food Authority of India under section 92 is authorized to make regulations, why was the withdrawal made?

Composition of A1 milk and A2 milk labels

The debate stems from the casein composition that forms the protein structure of the milk.

Source: (Borş et al., 2024) | Health-Related Outcomes and Molecular Methods for the
Characterization of A1 and A2 Cow’s Milk

In bovine cattle populations, cross-breeding of herds is highly practiced in India. Casein is a part of β-CN coding, where Holstein and Ayrshire cattle breeds generally produce 63%- 67% A1 milk and 35%- 33% A2 milk. Now, producers generally select the female cattle populations with A2/A2 genotype. Therefore, heterogeneous genes are mixed to get the highest protein from these A1 β-CN and A2 β-CN genetic variants.

Many biotechnologists and dairy agriculturists reviewed that A1 milk is hazardous, while A2 milk is only better if cross-breeding is avoided. Sodhi et al. (2022) claimed the ‘A2-A2 genotype’ to be highly prevalent, based on a survey by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) on 22 Indian cattle breeds. Thus, cows in India produce a2 milk mostly.

To learn more on A2 milk, read https://dollons.com/blog/how-does-desi-cow-milk-benefits-us/

Key takeaway

Finally, the Indian food law is found to be under-constructed. It’s suspected that the FSSAI regulations protect some brands by withdrawing claims over these milk labels.

In compliance with milk label restrictions, Dollons operates efficiently as an ISO-certified dairy processing plant in West Bengal.

Referred works:

Jayakumar, A. (2024, August 29). Why FSSAI withdrew its advisory on removing A1, A2 claims on milk and milk products. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/explained-fssai-advisory-a1-a2-milk-9537796/

Mrinalini Dhyani. (2024, August 27). FSSAI U-turn on A1, A2 labels for dairy products comes after ICAR member’s letter to Modi. ThePrint. https://theprint.in/health/fssai-u-turn-on-a1-a2-labels-for-dairy-products-comes-after-icar-members-letter-to-modi/2240107/

Sodhi, M., Mukesh, M., Kataria, R., Niranjan, S., & Mishra, B. (2022). A1/A2 Milk Research in Indian Cattle. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources, 35(3), 269–278. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-1926.2022.00081.x

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