The regulatory crackdown on adulteration is raising costs for bulk buyers, rewarding honest farmers and forcing small dairies to adapt, even as household supplies remain unaffected.

Over the past two months, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration has inspected 360 establishments, seized 1,60,329 litres of adulterated milk worth Rs 65.17 lakh, suspended 35 licences and registered seven FIRs. Much of the dairy trade had warned that the crackdown would leave Mumbai short of milk.

Interviews across the supply chain suggest something more revealing. The crackdown has pushed a layer of cheap, adulterated milk out of the market without leaving households short. Bulk buyers are paying more, honest farmers are earning more, organised dairies are gaining customers, and thousands of smaller operators are struggling to meet rules that existed on paper but were rarely enforced.