Bengaluru: Nearly two years after its licence was cancelled, Neolacta, a Bengaluru-based company, continues to process and sell human milk despite this being not permitted under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It is able to do so because of an interim stay granted in Sept 2022 by the Karnataka high court on the cancellation of licence and because no govt agency has moved to have the stay vacated. India is the only country in Asia where breast milk is being sold for profit.
When granting the interim stay, the high court order stated: “It is open to the respondents to move the matter at any time.” Yet, none of the respondents in the high court case — the Ayush department of Karnataka, the Ayush state licensing authority or the union Ayush ministry — made any effort to get the stay vacated till March this year.
With FSSAI cancelling the licence of other companies trying to commercialise human milk, Neolacta now has a virtual monopoly on selling human milk for profit. However, no govt agencies moved. Seeing the continuing inaction of the union Ayush ministry, Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), a non-profit working to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding, wrote to the union health ministry on March 19, urging it to intervene in the high court to explain govt’s objections to get the stay vacated. On March 25, Ayush ministry moved to vacate the stay. Before this, the Ayush ministry had only filed objections in June 2023.
Neolacta was established in 2016 with a licence from the Karnataka office of the FSSAI in the category of dairy products. After receiving complaints, FSSAI cancelled the licence in 2021. However, Neolacta continued to function by getting an Ayush licence in November 2021 claiming that what they were selling were ayurvedic proprietary medicines. BPNI complained to the Ayush ministry. Ayush ministry decided that Neolacta’s products do not come under the definition of drugs and do not qualify for being ‘ayurvedic proprietary medicine’. The ministry wrote to the state licensing authority which cancelled the Ayush licence on Aug 28, 2022.
“I hope the union and state govts will take concrete steps to stop this business just as they moved to cancel the licences. All govt parties were issued notice when the interim stay was granted. The court specifically stated that govt agencies could move the matter at any time. The time to move the court is now or face the possibility of their own advisory and order cancelling the licence being defeated,” said Dr Arun Gupta of BPNI.
On Jan 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 the unethical business carried on by the petitioner, the Ayush department cancelled the licence. However, on the basis of the interim stay obtained by the petitioner, the petitioner is merrily carrying on the business,” stated the application.
When TOI contacted Dr Vikram Reddy, one of the applicants, he said 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 any information about the business.
“Govt has not even launched an investigation into the allegations against the company that it was buying breastmilk from poor women in villages, processing it and selling it for as much as Rs 4,500 for 300ml though the ministry has held that products of Neolacta raise an issue of women’s and human rights,” pointed out Dr Gupta.
On May 24 this year, FSSAI issued an advisory on “unauthorised 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 3, Neolacta got an interim stay from the Karnataka high court against the FSSAI advisory.
In response to queries sent to the Ayush ministry and to Neolacta, they refused to comment saying the matter is sub judice. FSSAI did not respond to queries.
