MENACE OF MILK ADULTERATION IN THE WORLD AND PAKISTAN

MENACE OF MILK ADULTERATION IN THE WORLD AND PAKISTAN

PROF WAQAR HUSSAIN

        In an ancient mythical story, an old lady was given three bowls containing water, honey and milk separately. She was asked to select one that would be provided to her for the rest of her life as the only food. The old lady thought water is essential for life so on first instant, she decided to go for water. Soon, a thought flashed in her mind that energy is required to sustain life. For how long! She would survive on merely a regulatory energy less water. So she changed her mind and started starring at honey bowl as the rich content of honey were alluring her to decide in its favour. Suddenly, she contemplated, honey will meet the energy requirements but how her thirst will be quenched? The fear of dehydration compelled her to change her view and she discarded honey too. Now there was a third bowl containing milk. She thought it will provide water as well as food. White in colour, good in taste, pleasant in flavour, brimming with nutrients, soaked in water and easily digestible .And she could easily sustain her life by just taking milk. So, she gave her final verdict in favour of milk. The sages have concocted this story to tell the mankind the unmatchable worth and to exalt the value of milk as a food. In myth, the old lady is still surviving by just taking milk.

         Now science has proved that milk contain all of the nutrients; carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, mineral and water : For example, take 100g of cow’s milk, it contains 87.8g water, 3.2g proteins, 3.9g fat,4.8g carbohydrate, 14 mg cholesterol, 120mg Calcium along with Vitamins A,B,D,K, etc. and minerals magnesium, potassium, sodium, iodine, etc. So the mythical old lady was wise enough in her selection. But she was not wise in knowing the basic human psychology thus she ignored the innate greedy, unpredictable and ever varying nature of man who is not only a magnificent “Constructors” but also a devastating “destructors”. He can build Venice and can also annihilate Nagasaki. He makes good out of bad and vice versa. Greed is his besetting sin! The old lady probably does not know what man has done with her coveted food.

                  With increase in population, decrease in grazing land- the natural equilibrium between demand and supply disturbed alarmingly so man adopted unhealthy measures to increase the quantity of milk .It happens all over the world with only difference of degree and types of adulteration . According to a survey, in the top three most adulterated foods, milk comes at second position just below Olive oil and the third one is honey. So it has become one of the most molested foods worldwide.

                       According to media reports, the milk  adulteration is  80% in Pakistan;75% in Delhi ;100% in the West Bengal, Bihar and 0rrisa.Astonishingly ,0%in Goa and Punducherry.The Chinese  milk scandals of 2008 rocked the entire world .The condition of the rest of the world is also shocking. So adulteration has become a global phenomenon. What we would aim at this critical juncture is to lessen its adulteration to a manageable degree before attaining complete purity for which the old lady opted for milk.

                    In Pakistan, we are facing the problem of milk adulteration alarmingly. There are many causes behind this ugly practice. First one arises due to the problem of storage and preservation as the milk collectors collect milk at night and store it without chiller, they add antiseptics (hydrogen peroxide, formalin, penicillin, hair removing powder, borax, etc.) to avoid growth of pathogens, then they also add chilling agent like urea, ice, ammonium sulphate, etc. and finally they add preservatives like baking soda, caustic soda, to neutralize lactic acid produced in larger amount in case of spoilage.

          Second reason of adulteration is to increase the amount of milk .It is accomplished by many ways. First, cows are injected with hormones oxytocin which enhances the production of milk to about 50%.It means milkman will get 7.5 Kg milk instead of 5Kg.So this extra 2.5 Kg of milk allures milkman to use oxytocin which is a mammalian hormone, having small peptide chain of nine amino acids and acts primarily as neuromodulator in brain. It has significant role in sexual reproduction. Recently, it is learnt that oxytocin has key role in orgasm, social recognition, pair bonding, anxiety and maternal behavior .For this reason it is sometime called “love hormone”. The milk contains significant percentage of oxytocin which brings early puberty in female, result in premature births; suffer IQ of child, etc.

        Second, there is aged long practice of water addition to increase its quantity. Third method is to increase reproduction of milk by making artificial milk blended with natural milk and to impart it natural look and qualities, some additives are mixed. There are many recipes for production of artificial milk. One often quoted recipe is to mix 1kg natural milk with 1kg cooking oil in a container. In another container, 1kg dried milk is mixed in 10kg water till it is completely dissolved. Then both the solutions are mixed and stirred to uniformity. Then carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) powder is added to increase its thickness as big companies buy milk after checking its density. So various chemical Sodium Chloride, Urea, detergent, SNF (solid not food), grounded, starch, powdered singharas, etc. are added to increase its density to get it passed from companies’ Lactometers (instrument to measure the density of milk.)

                 Fourth source of adulteration is the practice of extracting cream (fat) from milk before it is sold. In doing so, its fat content are lowered, so substandard cooking oil, greases, animal fat, are added to increase its fat and oil contents as well as density.

            Fifth reason behind adulteration is to improve milk’s cosmetic appearance, taste and odour , etc. Detergents give foamy appearance, bleaching powder removes colours and restores natural brightness; penicillin enhances thickness and fragrance and sweetening agent are added to give slight sweet taste. In fact, natural milk contains 4.8g lactose which is slightly sweet.

        Sixth reason behind adulteration is our personal inability and careless behavior. The natural milk contains germs of many diseases like typhoid, tuberculosis, etc. and it further catches and hatches germs as it is an excellent medium for microorganism growth, germs love to live in milk. In order to get rid of these pathogens, milk is boiled at 60°C for 30 minutes and then is suddenly cooled, killing most of the bacteria. This process is called Pasteurization dedicated to Louis Pasteur who developed this method. Often the household ladies don’t boil milk either up to required degree of temperature or requisite time. So, all the germs are not killed and remain alive in milk. So this is another cause of contamination due to our negligence.

       Seventh reason behind adulteration is the negligible role of civil society and government in curbing this malpractice. Imposition of strict laws, proper vigilance and mass awareness campaign is required to erase this malicious practice.

        If we make a list, there are about 25 adulterants and all affects human health by one way or another. For example take one adulterant “formalin” which is frequently added in milk. It is a mixture of 40% formaldehyde, 8% methanol and 52% water. It is primarily used in biological laboratory to preserve biological specimens and is a powerful antiseptic. Formaldehyde was declared toxic substance by the 1999 Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In human, the ingestion of Formaldehyde causes vomiting, abdominal pain, corrosion of gastrointestinal tract, allergy, dizziness; damage of liver and in extreme cases can cause death. In 2011, the US National Toxicology Program described Formaldehyde as “known to be a human carcinogenic”. Ingestion of 30 ml of solution containing 37% Formaldehyde has been reported to cause death in as adult man.

           In EU, the maximum allowed concentration of formaldehyde in finished product is 0.2% and any product that exceeds 0.05% has to include warning that the product contains formaldehyde. Formalin also contains 8% methanol which is poisonous, cause’s blindness in small doses, madness in mega doses and sometime even death. These were the effects of single adulterator. So the mention of all other is not feasible.         

                 Adulterants cause scores of maladies from minor to major ones. For example; typhoid, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, brucellosis, allergies, stomach disorder, cancer, hepatitis, hypertension,acidity,grogginess,shedding of hair, premature whitening of hair, premature delivery, decrease in intelligence, lack of patience, kidney failure, blindness, madness, coronary heart disease, etc. So you must think twice before gulping a glass of milk. This is how we have turned a precious gift of God into a maligned one.

          Cambridge University report once revealed that “Pakistan produces 17 billion litre of milk and consumes 38 billion litres….and asked: “Can anybody explain how it is doubled?” I have explained, how it is doubled but who will explain me, what will be the health condition of that mythical old lady who opted for “milk bowl”. Is she still alive?