Kavre, July 10

The government-issued Dairy and Dairy Products Production Criteria Directive-2018 faces obstacles in its implementation from the locals of Kavre district.

As per the diktat, plastic containers are not permitted for ferrying milk and storing collected milk. Similarly, sale of stale milk is also prohibited.

Nepal Food Technology and Quality Control Division Office, Dhulikhel, warned milk chilling centres and milk collection centres against the use of plastic containers. However, dairy farmers and entrepreneurs have continued using plastic containers.

Local milk collectors and dairy entrepreneurs have stopped selling milk to the chilling centre of Dairy Development Corporation in Tamaghat of Panchkhal Municipality after it asked them to use steel and aluminium containers. Milk collectors and dairy entrepreneurs have, instead, started selling milk to private dairies.

Assistant Chief Nar Bahadur Bista of Dairy Development Corporation’s chilling centre in Tamaghat said the centre’s milk collection had fallen sharply.

According to Bista, the centre used to collect 8,000 litres of milk on a daily basis, but the daily collection now has fallen to just 2,500 litres.

Until a few months ago, about 50 cooperatives used to supply milk to the centre. Bista added that milk collection had dropped due to the Dairy Development Corporation’s policy of buying only quality milk.

Meanwhile, dairy entrepreneurs are demanding grants for purchasing steel and aluminium containers.

Dairy entrepreneur Nakul Parajuli of Jyamdi said they were ready to change milk containers if the government provided them with up to 50 per cent grant for buying new milk containers.

Division Food research officer Shiv Prasad Bhandari of Nepal Food Technology and Quality Control Division admitted they were having a hard time implementing the directive.

However, monitoring of chilling centres and milk collection centres is under way with police support, said Bhandari.

The district is home to 50 chilling centres and more than 300 milk collection centres.