92% loose milk ‘non-compliant’ with safety, quality standards: survey

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Dairy farmer selling milk at milk market in Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood on November 7, 2021. — PPI

A nationwide survey has revealed that 92% of the loose milk samples collected in the nationwide study did not comply with the required safety and quality parameters.

The study carried out by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) was conducted to provide the first nationally representative data on the safety and quality of loose milk in Pakistan.

The survey — carried out by Nielsen, a research agency — involved the collection of 1,206 samples from 11 major cities which were then analysed on five quality and safety parameters including composition, adulteration, antibiotic residues, aflatoxin M1, and heavy metals.

It was found that 54% of available loose milk in the country was in fact “unfit” for consumption, revealed principal investigator of this project UVAS, Associate Professor Dr Azmat Ullah Khan.

Speaking on the occasion, UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmed said that his institution is working closely with livestock, poultry, dairy, meat, and food industries and playing its “leading role as a think tank to address wide-ranging issues plaguing the industry”.

Meanwhile, University of Education Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, while stressing consumer awareness, said that tractability is the only way to ensure food safety in our country.



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