ANALYSIS OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS OF RAW MILK FROM COMMERCIAL DAIRY FARMS – IMPLICATIONS OF ADULTERATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

Objective: Globally, milk adulteration is an important public health issue but more so in developing countries, for small financial gains. This study was designed to assess the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of raw milk from commercial dairy farms from a public health perspective. Material and Methods: In this study 29 bulk samples of raw cattle milk were selected, one from each dairy farm in Peshawar, using simple random sampling and analyzed using by ultrasonic milk analyser. The main parameters tested for adulteration of milk were urea, starch, hydrogen peroxide, detergent, sorbitol, quaternary ammonium compounds, boric acid, cane sugar, sodium chloride, carbonate, formalin, hypochlorite, freezing point, added water, salt percentages and electrical conductivity (EC). Additionally, nutritional quality was assessed by fats, solids-non-fats (SNF), lactose, and protein. The results were statistically analyzed by t-test using SPSS software. Results: Results showed that more than 90% of the samples had water adulteration of more than 5% due to which 55% had significantly reduced nutritional parameters but still overall nutritional quality was acceptable in 24% of the samples. 21% of samples had high electrical conductivity reflecting mastitis in animals and consequently considered unsuitable for consumption due to the resultant transmission of either antibiotics or microorganisms into the human body. Furthermore, chemical adulterants were not detected in any sample. t-test showed that most of the parameters were significantly different (p=0.05) than the population standard means. Conclusion: Milk samples had compromised quality due to water addition in half of them and raised EC values in about a quarter of the samples. Despite water adulteration, nutrients like fat and SNF remained within ranges, indicating a cow-buffalo milk blend. Most tested parameters were lower than national averages but above minimum values. No chemical adulterants were detected. There’s a need for continuous milk testing to maintain public health standards. key words: mild adulteration, commecial dairy farms