ESTIMATION OF QUALITY OF RAW MILK (OPEN & BRANDED) BY MILK ADULTERATION TESTING KIT

Background: Milk is a compulsory part of daily diet for the expectant mothers as well as growing children. Milk is very important due to its special nutritive value and important role for human and animal health. Adulteration is practised either to substitute cheaper ingredients or to impress the buyer to think the product is more valuable or of better quality. Methods: The present study was conducted by the Department of Community Medicine at HIHT, Dehradun. All the samples of the raw milk (open and branded) supplied by the vendors in 5 Km radius of HIHT . The samples of milk were also collected from the Girls and Boys Hostel Mess and canteen. 500ml of each variety of open milk and 500 ml packet of branded milk were purchased from the milk vendors. The specific gravity of the milk was assessed by lactometer and chemically tested by Adulteration Test Kit supplied by NICE Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. ( an ISO 9001 Certified Company). Results: It was observed that out of 60 samples of milk, only 12 samples (20 %) had specific gravity of 26 and more which is considered as undiluted milk while 48 (80%) had specific gravity of less than 26 clearly indicating the dilution of milk with water. It was also observed that all the milk samples including double toned milk collected from different places showed presence of urea and detergents as common adulterants. Conclusion:The findings of this study highlights the need to implement improved hygiene practices and to apply effective monitoring throughout the production to delivery chain. Training and education is also needed for all persons who deal with milk production, marketing and processing