By Our Special Correspondent
Bengaluru, June 18 (IVC) The Bengaluru-based company –Neolacta- continues human breast milk selling on flimsy grounds following the nonchalant attitude of the appropriate Karnataka State and Union Government agencies.
Neolacta sells human breast milk for a huge profit of Rs 4500 for 300 ml pack though it was not permissible under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The company is able to sell the human breast milk following an interim stay granted by the Honorable High Court of Karnataka in September 2022 on the cancellation of license to the company for no appropriate Government agencies has moved to have the stay vacated.
India is the only country in Asia where human breast milk is being sold for huge profit, the official sources said.
When granting the interim the High Court stated : “It is open to the respondents in the high court case –Ayush department of Karnataka, Ayush State licensing authority- made any effort to get the stay vacated till March this year.
But on May 24 this year FSSAI issued an advisory on “unauthorized commercialization of human milk and its products”. It stated that “all activities related to commercialization of human milk and its products should be immediately stopped “ and urged state and central authorities “to ensure that no licence or registration was granted to FBOs (food business operators) involved in the processing or selling of mother’s milk/human milk”.
A week later food safety officers conducted raids against outlets selling human milk including Neolacta . On June 03 Neolacta obtained an interim stay from Karnataka High Court against FSSAI advisory.
On January 24 this year , a few former employees of Neolacta filed an application asking to be impleaded in the case before the High Court. Their application stated that the petitioner (Neolacta) is “indulging in collecting breast milk from poor mothers by offering cash or kind illegally and selling the same all across India, which is unethical and illegal”.
“After coming to know of unethical business carried on by petitioner, Ayush Department cancelled the license. However, on the basis of the interim stay obtained by the petitioner , the petitioner is merrily carrying on the business”, stated the application.
According to one of the applicants Dr Vikram Reddy, he could not comment because Neolacta has filed a case in the High Court against several employees who left the company including him, to prevent them from revealing about the business.
“Government has not even launched an investigation in the allegations against the company that it was buying breast milk from poor women in villages, processing it and selling it for as much as Rs 4500 for 300 ml though the ministry has held that products of Neolacta raise an issue of women’s and human rights” Gupta pointed out. The Ayush Ministry and Neolacta refused to comment on the ground that the matter was under sub judice.
