Screening of adulterants and extent of added water in market milk at central zone of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

An experiment was designed to screen the various adulterants in the market milk sold in central zone (vicinity of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad districts) of Sindh province at the end of year 2013. A total of 300 milk samples were collected each of 100 from vicinity of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad. Twenty milk samples (n=20) from each of milk producer (MP), milk collector (MC), middlemen (MM), processor (P) and dairy shop (DS) were examined for different adulterants (water, urea, starch, arrowroot, rice flour, sorbitol, glucose, cane sugar, ammonium sulfate, caustic soda, sodium chloride, skimmed milk powder, vegetable oil, formalin, hydrogen peroxide, boric acid, salicylic acid, detergent and hypochlorite). Among these adulterants extraneous water was found in majority of milk samples. Freezing point of 39% milk samples of MP, 47% of MC, 50% of MM, 46% of P and 56% of DS appeared towards 0 C rather than that of control milk, and assumed to be adulterated with added water. Among all 300 milk samples water (79.3%) was common adulterant found in majority of milk samples followed by detergent (30.3%), cane sugar (22%), starch (18.3%), rice flour (17.7%), skimmed milk powder (15.3%), caustic soda sodium chloride and formalin (14%), hydrogen peroxide (12%), urea and vegetable oil (10.7%), ammonium sulfate and boric acid (8.3%), glucose (6.3%), arrowroot (3.3%), sorbitol (2.7%) hypochlorite (1.7%) and salicylic acid (1.3%), respectively. The extent of extraneous water found to be comparatively higher (P 0.05) with each other, but found to be significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of P and MP. . The proportion of milk adulteration was found comparatively higher (P<0.05) at Hyderabad (4.00±0.460%), followed by Mirpurkhas (2.87±0.357%) and Shaheed Benazirabad (2.27±0.354%) districts of Sindh, Pakistan.