Food Adulteration in Milk & its Components, and how it is Harmful?

Milk is an essential aspect of a balanced diet since it offers essential vitamins and simple carbs. But can we be certain that the milk that we all drink is safe and devoid of harmful contaminants? Every once in a while, we catch a wave of media articles about food adulteration from all across the nation. And, this clearly invites questions and concerns about the cleanliness of dairy.

Due to a shortage of on-site inspection of food adulteration^[1], milk has been deemed to become extremely detrimental to one’s wellness, and unfortunately, it is fairly common in India. New approaches and additives have arisen as a result of new trends and advances.

Seventy per cent of milk specimens gathered by the food safety authority across the country did not fulfil the criteria. The findings of the first milk research carried by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) show that the majority of Indians get chemicals as well as other toxins via milk.

Why is Food Adultering so Common in India?

Amongst the main motives why milk adulteration is still so widespread in India is the unavailability of on-site screening for additives when it is obtained. New approaches and additives have also surfaced recently. Water, detergent, urea, starch, sugar, salt, and melamine are some of the most frequently used adulterants identified in dairy. The most popular adulterant widely utilized to substitute the good fats in milk is edible oil.

Considering the government’s efforts to reduce illicit practices that contaminate milk in an unethical way, milk adulteration remains a big problem. Numerous aspects such as poor socioeconomic status, reduced disposable incomes, competition, and market gaps, non-durable condition of milk, disorganized plight of dairy farms, weakening of legislation, low level of awareness about clinical laboratories to have milk tested, and lack of public surveillance aggravates the threat of milk-borne illness.

Components of Food Adulteration

Here Are A Few Common Food Adulteration Components:

• Table sugar is used as an additive to enhance the carbohydrate level and volume of milk, which further raises the density of milk. As a result, water is infused into the milk, which is undetectable by a lactometer test.
• To improve the solid composition of milk, it is contaminated with starch.
• To extend the life span of milk, benzoic acid plus salicylic acid is introduced.
• To keep the dairy thicker, detergent is poured into it, resulting in serious gastrointestinal and kidney problems.
• Milk is fortified with formalin to keep it fresh for a prolonged time. It is extremely poisonous and has a negative impact on the liver and kidneys.
• Because it has the ability to enhance the lactometer value while retaining the viscosity of milk, ammonium sulfate is used as an additive in milk.

Methods for Detecting Food Adulteration

• Shifting fats off milk will lead to a significant reduction in fat percentage, a higher density value, and a greater SNF proportion.
• Milk with more water will have a reduced fat level, a decreased SNF %, and a lower density measurement.
• The availability of starch in milk can be detected using a starch iodine test. Take a 3ml milk specimen in a test tube. After boiling and cooling to room temp, put a dab of 1% iodine liquid. The appearance of blue shade, in particular, indicates the existence of starch that vanishes during heating and returns when cold.
• To compensate for the thickness (lactometer reading) of diluted milk, sodium chloride (table salt) is added. 2 mL milk, 0.1 mL potassium chromate (5%), and 2 mL 0.1 N silver nitrate The concentration of sodium chloride is identified by the formation of yellow precipitate.

THE FOOD ADULTERATION PREVENTION ACT OF 1954 (Amendments were made in 1964, 1976, and 1986.)

As a result of several cases of contamination or food adulteration, the government has taken certain steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the consumer. Every individual must be aware of these laws.

The Act protects users against food adulteration or contaminants that could put their well-being on the line. The Law also addresses the scams that might be committed by merchants by selling lower-quality or contaminated foods. The Act governs the use of toxins, insecticides, flavours, as well as other dietary supplements in the manufacturing of food. There is a confinement on the disposal of substandard products as a result of this Act. Under the provisions of this Act, vitamins or minerals can be added to flour, bread, or other grains, salts can be iodized, vanaspati oil can be vitaminized, and vitamin “C” can be added to specific foods.

The Act contains many categories of food adulteration, false advertising, and other terms (Sec 2). The Centre has the authority to designate the Central Committee for Food Standard as an advisory panel (Sec 3). In any disagreement, the court must analyze a contaminated sample. The final word on the matter comes from the Central Food Laboratories. Calcutta, Ghaziabad, Mysore, and Pune are the locations of these four labs. There are roughly 82 food labs in the nation that works for the PFA Act^[1] on a local, provincial, and state level. Individual states are given authority to select Public Analysts and Food Inspectors to oversee food production, preservation, and advertising. The inspector’s job is to collect and transport specimens to a facility. The government has the authority to set quality requirements, regulate the production of food, delivery, and sales, as well as pack, label, license, and regulate food additives.

The Final Words

Food adulteration in India requires the attention of one and all. At SwadeshiVIP, we are delivering pure A2 Gir cow milk, A2 Sahiwal cow milk, A2 Gir cow ghee and SwadeshiVIP Paneer in Delhi NCR free from any form of contamination or food adulteration. Being the best dairy brand in Delhi NCR, we are meeting the expectations of our customers, and we ensure that our customers will consume the best dairy products that are high in terms of purity as well as quality.

Read our article:Incredible Health Benefits of Gir Cow Milk: Benefits you must know