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Did WHO Warn 87% of Indians Would Suffer From Cancer Due To Milk Adulteration?
Social media can often be a place of constant dire warnings. One such example can be found in the latest viral posts.
It has been claimed that World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued an advisory to the Indian government about the poor quality of milk and milk products available in the country.
The viral posts further state that the WHO even warned that 87 percent of Indian people may suffer from cancer due to contaminated milk by the year 2025.
Readers forwarded the viral claim to our WhatsApp Tipline (9049053770).
We found that it is a false claim. WHO has not warned or issued an advisory about the adulteration of milk in India.
WHAT’S THE CLAIM?
The viral message along with The Economic Times screenshot reads as follows:
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued an advisory to the Govt of India stating that if adulteration of milk & milk products is not checked immediately, 87% of citizens would be suffering from serious diseases like cancer by the year 2025.
Original Post – Facebook
FACT-CHECK
As the major claim is about an advisory issued by World Health Organization, we checked WHO official website. We did not find any such advisory there.
Instead, we found a clarification regarding this so-called advisory on milk contamination. WHO vehemently denied the viral claims and clarified it has not warned the Indian government about milk adulteration.
“Contrary to reports in a section of media, WHO would like to state that it has not issued any advisory to the Government of India on the issue adulteration of milk or milk products,” reads the WHO statement.
Original Statement – WHO
We found that the viral claims of the so-called WHO advisory on milk contamination are not new.
Earlier in 2019, the same claims were also shared on social media and reported in the news. Taking cognizance of it, MP Sanjay Mandlik raised the issue in the parliament on 22 November 2019.
He had asked the then-Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan whether the WHO issued an advisory to the Government of India regarding milk adulteration.
In a reply, Dr. Harsh Vardhan clarified that the WHO has issued no such advisory to the Government of India.
He also reiterated that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had also confirmed the same from the WHO country office in India.
Read – Loksabha
We further checked The Economic Times’ screenshot. ET reported it in 2018 that around 68.7 percent of milk and milk products sold in the country were not as per the standards laid down by the FSSAI.
MP Mandlik had also sought clarification on this issue as well in the Loksabha.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan replied that the report is inaccurate.
He said that the Nationwide Milk Safety and Quality Survey conducted by FSSAI in 2018 revealed that only 7% of samples were contaminated.
Read – Loksabha
Press Information Bureau (PIB) also debunked these viral claims on Twitter.
It tweeted that the WHO has not issued any advisory to the government of India related to the adulteration of milk products in India that will lead to cancer.
“This claim is false. WHO has not issued any such advisory," reads PIB Fact Check’s tweet.
CONCLUSION
Hence, it is clear that a fake message went viral in the name of WHO. The World Health Organization had not issued any advisory to the Indian Government warning milk adulteration may lead 87 percent of citizens to suffer from cancer.
(If you also come across any such videos and images you think are falsely viral, send them on our WhatsApp Helpline (9049053770) or tag us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.)
Title:Did WHO Warn 87% of Indians Will Suffer From Cancer Due To Milk Adulteration?
Fact Check By: Mayur DeokarResult: False
