Beware! The milk you buy may not be safe enough

Presence of baking soda in milk makes it neutral. This can damage the lining of intestines if used for a long time.

Neutralizers like baking soda are added to milk to make it last longer, which might turn harmful in the long run. Pic: Shree D N

Do you ever bother about the quality of milk you consume every day in various forms? If not, be careful. Six out of eight major brands among the milk sold in Bengaluru have been proved to be of substandard quality.

During a BBMP council meeting held on September 30, 2013, Corporator S Harish submitted an astounding report on the eight milk brands distributed in the city.

However buyers of Nandini (a product of Karnataka Milk Federation - KMF) and Thirumala toned milk needn’t worry. Reports gave a clean chit to Nandini and and Tirumala. Some parameters pf rest of the brands - Prakruthi, Vamsi, Shiva Shakthi, Arokya, Milky Way and Aamolya toned milk - did not seem to be falling within the standards recommended by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Mahalakshmipuram Councillor S Harish says that these brands come to Bangalore from the outskirts of the city or far off places like Tamil nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Helping milk last long by adding chemicals

The samples of milk analysed by Harish and team were collected from Bangalore market area. Five samples -Nandini toned milk, Prakruthi, Vamsi, Shiva Shakthi and Arokya toned milk - weighed 500 ml while three others - Tirumala, Milk Way and Aamolya - weighed 250 ml.

They were tested at National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) on September 23, 2013.

After processing, that is pasteurisation, milk can survive maximum two days. Milk should be consumed within 24 hours. Since daries of most of these brands operate at far-flung places, by the time it reaches the end user, almost a day is over. To preserve the milk for a long time, various chemicals are used as preservatives.

Tests done on Vamsi, Milky way, Aamolya, Prakruthi and Shiva Shakthi show that the acidity and fat level are far below the standards recommended by FSSAI.

Acidity level can plunge to this level only through chemicals. These chemicals are used for two reasons: To make the milk look thick and to preserve it for a longer period.

To thicken the milk, gum powder, starch, sugar etc.are used, while to help the milk last longer and to ensure it doesn’t curdle while boiling, they make use of neutralisers such as baking soda, caustic soda or hydrogen peroxide.

The older the milk, higher will be the acidity. Therefore to preserve milk for a longer period of time, these companies use neutralizers.

As per the FSSAI standards, milk should have no neutralizer. However, the test revealed the presence of neutralizers in five milk samples.

Same price, less weight

The brands tested were also under-weight, when compared to Nandini brand. The standard weight and volume of toned milk is prescribed to be at 518 g for 500 ml. 3% decrease in the weight and 3.2% decrease in the volume was observed in some of the brands during the test.

Adultrated Milk Brands

Parameters	As per standard	Prakruthi	Vamsi	Shiva Shakthi	Milky Way (250 ml)	Aamolya	Arokya
Weight	518g/ 260g	501	516	515	260	249	514
Volume	500 ml/250 ml	484	498	497	251	242	496
Acidity	0.144 to 0.162	0.117	0.09	0.117	0.072	0.081	0.144
CLR	29.5	28.5	29	20	30	26.5	33.5
Fat	3.1	3	2.7	2.8	1.6	1.4	1.5
SNF	8.5	8.30	8.28	8.55	8.25	7.33	9.10
Starch test	Negative	Negative	Negative	Negative	Negative	Negative	Positive
Neutralizer	Negative	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive	Negative

CLR = Calculated lacto Rate

SNF = Solid Non Fat

Unadulterated milk brands

Parameters	As per standard	Thirumala (250 ml)	Nandini
Weight	518gl/260g	269	534
Volume	500ml/ 250ml	260	516
Acidity	0.144 to 0.162	0.144	0.177
CLR	29.5	30	28.5
Fat	3.1	1.6	3
SNF	8.5	8.25	8.30
Starch test	Negative	Negative	Negative
Neutralizer	Negative	Negative	Negative

Only long term effect

Gastric problems are one of the common problems caused due to consumption of adulterated milk. These chemicals harm the tender inner line of the intestine. This injures the digestive system.

There are no immediate effects of consuming adulterated milk but it takes its own time. Indian Council of Medical Research reported that long term use of  adulterated milk can also cause kidney failure or heart problems. or even death.

Patients suffering from blood pressure should avoid sodium. Consumption of milk with neutraliser may have an adverse effect on such patients.  

Bangalore-based nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy believes that cardiac issues from adulteration is unlikely. However “Milk adulteration can have an effect on the stomach or cause food poisoning, she says,” she says.

Milk is supposed to be slightly acidic, “if a neutraliser is added in the form of an alkali, this can cause damage to the tissues.  Sodium can increase the risk of high blood pressure.  If baking soda is used as an adulterant, over a period of time it can reduce the absorption of calcium,” says Sheela.

Veterinarian  G N S Reddy is the founder of the first dairy to produce organic milk involving farmers in the State, Akshayakalpa. He believes that adulterations can take place at any point of production. It may occur at the root level i.e farmers, intermediate level i.e. milk collection centres or final, processing centers.

He says, “There are no methods at present with these agencies to control quality of milk at the point of production.” Sometimes absence of refrigerators to transport milk to distant places force sellers to add chemicals to milk.

He believes that the samples should also be tested for bacteria, as high incidence of harmful bacteria like coliforms can be of great public health importance.

What after the report?

The reports were submitted to Mayor B S Satyanarayana and BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan.

Lakshminarayan had taken a note of this and said, “I will write a letter to Food and Civil Supplies Department and ask Health Inspectors to form a report on this.”

When contacted, Bommanahalli BBMP Health Officer Dr. Suresh claimed to have not received any complaints against these brands, and therefore did not take any action against them.