Assessment of quality of raw milk samples from a jurisdiction of Northern India.

Background : Milk is globally described as complete diet. Milk is most commonly diluted with water - this not only reduces its nutritional value, but contaminated water can also cause additional health problems. Objectives : To ascertain the composition and level of adulteration in the collected raw milk samples Methodolog: A total of 90 milk samples were collected from milk vendors in Tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali) and were analyzed for total solids contents (milk fat %, milk solids not fat %) using standardized methods. Results : Average fat content was 4.6±1.37%, SNF was 7.87±1.33%and TS was 12.4±1.93 %. Only 21 samples (23.33%) met standards prescribed by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, (FSSA) 2006. No other adulterants such as starch, urea, sodium hydroxide etc. were found in any of the collected milk samples. Conclusion: Quality of 77% of the collected milk samples from Tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali) was below the standards. Therefore, regular check up of milk should be carried out at various critical control points.