Packed milk is better than the loose milk available in the market, claims Quality Control Laboratory of the University of Veterinary and Animal Science (UVAS), Lahore, after conducting test to examine the quality of both type of milk available in the market.
The UVAS performed the tests under a research project, titled "Monitoring of Chemical Adulterants and hygienic Status of Market Milk" funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Islamabad, says a spokesman here Tuesday.
According to UVAS Quality Control Laboratory, Director Professor Dr Khushi Muhammad, the test performed for the market raw milk has shown a variety of adulterants such as sorbitol, formalin, carbonates, sugar, sodium chloride, starch, etc. In four towns of Lahore (Data Ganj Bakhsh Town, Ravi Town, Gulberg Town, Shalamar Town), it has been observed that composition of the milk adulterants is different as source of the supply of milk is different.
While packed milk samples were found to be free from all the tested adulterants. It has also been observed that almost 90 per cent milk supply diluted with water or with skimmed milk. Professor Khushi said that the Quality Control Laboratory has also developed a Milk Adulterants Testing-MAT kit, which can monitor 12 adulterants by performing instant spot test to ensure the milk quality.
More than 300 MAT kits have been sold so far to the industry or individual milk consumers. More than a dozen milk processing units are collecting only 34 per cent milk from villages and are running under capacity. It has largely been observed that quality conscious milk processing units with competent labs backup are maintaining quality standards of packed milk to ensure safe milk supply for consumers.
Professor Khushi said that recent measures taken by the Punjab government to enhance and improve milk supply encompass short and long-term measures. Dairy experts are of the view that developing commercial dairy with exotic breed crosses as short term and culling the unproductive local animals and breeding the good producing cows or buffaloes as long term strategy can improve the productivity. The UVAS is running, a focused project, to improve the production potentials of animals being maintained by 80 per cent of the small farmers.
Besides, several commercial farmers are seeking expert advice for management, nutritional and disease problems of their herds, Milk is produced in villages and suburban areas of the country and there is shortage of milk supply to metropolitan cities because of improper distribution channel. Milk has a short shelf life and if not kept and transported under special cooling system, gets spoiled.
The distribution channel of milk through middleman collection remains a major source of adulteration, many times with very hazardous chemicals like formalin, sorbitol, starch, whey powder, hydrogen peroxide, urea, sodium carbonates, bleaching powder, etc. The UVAS established its Quality Control Laboratory with financial assistance (ASPl-II grant Rs 99.998 million) of Punjab government in 2007 and is in the process of accreditation (ISO 17025). Its objective is to provide phytosanitary measures under the WTO compliance facilities to the stake holders.
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