The wrath of raw milk

Unknowingly consuming raw milk in cold coffees, milkshakes, faloodas, etc. can be harmful to your health. We spoke to health experts to check for the same.

A policeman inspects seized adulterated milk packets at Dongri police station on October 4, 2013. - Salman Ansari/DNA

Milk is a part of almost everybody's diet. And everybody knows that milk whether purchased from your milkman or local dairy or in the form of milk packets it's common sense to boil it before consuming it, as a safety precaution. The exception being milk that is tetra packed.

However, most of the times we don't realise that the cold coffees, milkshakes, faloodas and other milk-based cold beverages that we merrily chug down from restaurants and juice stalls, most often use unboiled milk. We spoke to health experts to find out if it's advisable to do so.

Don't get misled by labels
Milk packets from various brands that are available in the market generally come with the label of either toned/homogenised/pasteurised. But does that mean its safe to consume raw milk directly from these packets? “The terms 'toned' and 'homogenised' refers to the milk quality and not hygiene”, clarifies dietician and sports nutritionist Niti Desai. Also, taking factors like transport and storage into consideration, if the milk is not refrigerated especially during summer months, it can spoil or allow the microorganisms to grow even in pasteurised milk. “Milk has a very short shelf life and if not stored correctly is highly prone to spoilage and can be a breeding ground for microorganisms which can lead to stomach upsets and gastroenteritis, she adds.

Adulteration and dilution of milk
Off and on there have been reports in newspapers about police busting milk adulteration rackets in the city. In such cases, the perpetrators inject water into sealed milk packets of different brands, thus adulterating milk. And one can safely assume that the water used for dilution is contaminated.

For this very reason, Desai warns to stay clear off consuming milk-based beverages like cold coffees, milkshakes, faloodas, etc. from small restaurants, juice stalls, etc. “Definitely avoid them from smaller joints. One can opt for these beverages from well-known food chains where strict hygiene standards are maintained, and where milk gets supplied to from authentic sources.

Therefore, avoid curds/ raita/chutneys when eating out at smaller joints," she says.

Avoid consuming loose milk
In today's age of packaged milk and tetra packed milk, there's still a considerable section of people that purchase loose milk from the milkman or local dairies. Desai warns, “Refrain from drinking raw milk bought from the local bhaiyya or loose milk. That's because the loose milk may have problems of adulteration and dilution where water is added. But if one does buy such milk, then one should definitely boil it.”

Dietician and sports nutritionist Deepshikha Agarwal too echoes the same concern. “Milk from local dairies is cheaper, so to people belonging to lower economic background that's their only option. The things they should remember is consider the hygiene of the food handler, and to boil the milk in a hygienic vessel. Even if one is preparing milk-based beverages at home, the milk must be boiled and then be used to make cold coffee, milkshakes, faloodas, etc. as the bad bacteria present in that milk will be destroyed during the boiling process,” she advises.

Precautions
Make sure you spend more money and go to a joint where hygiene standards are met.

If you are not sure about the safety of milk, stick to hot, cooked food items.

Does milk cause cancer?
Specialising in the field of nutrition, American scientist Loren Cordain and author of the book, The Paleo Diet has proposed a theory that milk might contribute to cancer. How you may ask? Well, according to him, the culprit might be a growth factor in milk called betacellulin.  

Studies on epidemiology do not support a link between commercial milk products and cancers of the breast, lung, stomach or pancreas. However, low-fat milk, but not whole milk, may contribute to ovarian and prostate cancers. Whereas, high-fat dairy products are associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.