The Hindu : Study highlights poor quality of milk

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Study highlights poor quality of milk

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Feb. 11. Unsatisfactory hygienic practices in the production and retailing of milk in Kerala, particularly by societies, highlights the need for strict quality control in the milk industry to safeguard public health. This was the finding of a recent survey carried out by the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy.

The study, which was presented at the 15th Kerala Science Congress, reveals high bacterial count for samples of milk collected from societies. About 85 per cent of the samples collected from societies do not meet the coliform standard prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Interestingly, hand milked samples were found to be superior to the machine milked samples.

A total of 40 samples was collected from two milk marketing societies and from hand milked and machine milked samples of the livestock farm under the Kerala Agricultural University and subjected to investigations to determine the bacterial quality. The samples were tested for Total Viable Count, Coliform count and Faecal Streptococcal count besides the presence of Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus.

The survey showed that five out of the 40 samples contained E.Coli, indicating faecal impurities or contamination from water sources. As man as 15 samples showed the presence of staphylococcus aureus organism implying the poor hygienic practices in the production and distribution of milk.

The grading of the samples showed that machine milked specimens had much higher bacterial count than hand milked samples. The study attributes this to bacterial contamination from milking equipment. Based on the total viable count, 82.5 per cent of the samples were graded as very good and none of the samples fell into the poor grade. However, 85 per cent of the samples from societies do not meet the coliforms standard prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. E.Coli and staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 37.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent of the samples respectively.

The survey also points out that coliform organisms entering the milk during household production is much more than farm produced milk. The investigators, including R. Bindu Raj, E. Nanu, B. Sunil and K.S. Sujatha, have recommended strict quality control in the production and retail marketing of milk.

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