Opinion | Dairy is the source of the divinity of milk / Self-reliance is the symbol of the power of dairy

Milk is the essence of health. Milk is the river in which everyone has to drown. What I mean to say is that milk is like a huge river in which every mammal has to take a dip once after birth. That is, as soon as they are born, children must first drink their mother’s milk. Milk is also known by names in hindi like Ksheer, Dudh, Goras, and Dohaj etc. Milk is produced by the mammary glands of mammals. Milk is full of nutrition. As soon as mammals descend on earth, the life of their children begins with milk. Milk has the special quality of enlivening life. Therefore, milk is a main source of nutrition for the development of the life of mammalian children. The nutrients in milk are no less than a boon for the healthy future of children. According to Sukumar Dey, author of the book Outlines of Dairy Technology, the composition of milk includes water, fat, protein, lactose (milk sugar) and minerals. Apart from these, other substances such as pigments, enzymes, vitamins, phospholipids and gases are also present in milk. Normally, the amount of water is about 87.34%. Fat is about 3.75% and protein is about 3.45%, lactose is about 4.6% and minerals are less than 1%. Generally, the total solids present in milk, which is about 12.66 percent, is the reason why milk is opaque and the water present in milk, which is about 87.34 percent, is the reason why milk is liquid. If we talk about the water present in milk, then the highest amount of water is 91.5% in donkey milk. The water content is 90.1% in a horse, 87.4% in a human, 87.2% in a cow, 86.5% in a camel and 86.9% in a goat. Milk contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, iodine, iron, potassium, folates, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, protein etc. Cholesterol is 2-5 mg per 100 ml in cow’s fat-free milk (skimmed milk). Cholesterol is 10-15 mg per 100 ml in full fat (full cream) milk. According to statistics, a healthy person can take 300 mg of cholesterol daily. Therefore, the chances of heart attack due to drinking milk are negligible. Milk mainly contains two proteins called casein and whey. 80 percent of the protein in milk is in the form of casein and the remaining 20 percent is whey. The casein protein present in milk, along with calcium and phosphate, forms small particles called micelles. When light strikes these micelles, the light remains unchanged and spreads. The fat globules present in milk also cause the scattering of light. Hence, the colour of milk appears white. This means that the more fat the milk contains, the whiter its colour will appear. Cow’s milk contains less fat than buffalo’s milk and also less protein called casein. Hence, cow’s milk appears light yellow. Milk contains two pigments called carotene and casein which affect its colour. Hence, cow’s milk is light yellow in colour due to carotene, whereas the colour of milk is white due to casein. Buffalo’s milk contains less carotene and more fat. Whereas cow’s milk contains more carotene and relatively less fat. Therefore, we can say that milk is an opaque, white liquid product.

Milk is divine. It is a complete diet. Dairy is the source of milk. Milk is a source of nutrients. Dairy is a term that includes the maintenance, preservation and packaging of milk and all milk products. The term dairy can be linked to the dairy industry. Milk is processed to transform it into various dairy products. Milk also has various by-products, which are technically called milk by-products. Milk is used as a primary ingredient in dairy products. Such as milk, curd, cheese, ice cream. Dairy by-products include whey, buttermilk, skimmed milk, ghee residue, etc. The relationship between milk and dairy is like that of a gardener and a gardener. Just as a gardener nurtures and takes care of his garden. Similarly, a dairy in the form of a gardener takes care of and preserves milk in the form of a garden. Dairies are a symbol of the beauty and divinity of milk. The responsibility of maintaining and keeping milk fresh lies with the dairy. This is called the shelf life of milk in technical terms. That is, maintaining the nutrition of milk for a long time. Nutrition should be related to purity. Pure milk is the symbol of a healthy body. Nowadays, chemicals or waste materials are used in milk to increase its nutrition or to preserve it. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has given permission to the dairy industries to add melamine. According to this, any company making infant formula from dry milk can add 1 milligram melamine in 1 kilogram of dry milk. There is a free hand to add the poison called melamine at the rate of 0.15 milligram per liter in liquid infant formula such as liquid milk and 2.5 milligram per kilogram in other food items. On the basis of the exemption given by FSSAI, the dairy industry secretly adds a large amount of melamine. Due to which milk and milk products become a threat to health. The government should completely ban melamine. Melamine is a carbon based chemical, which is used to adulterate milk and dairy products. It is worth mentioning that adulteration of milk and dairy products with melamine can cause kidney related diseases and the kidney can also get completely damaged. Many times milk traders add water to the milk with the aim of increasing its quantity, due to which the amount of protein in the milk decreases considerably. To balance the amount of this protein, melamine is added to milk by milk traders. Melamine is widely used to make plastic, glue, countertops and whiteboards etc. Similarly, to keep the cheese soft, many local and branded dairy industries use a chemical called formalin which is legally banned. This formalin causes fatal diseases like cancer. Recently, in a raid conducted by food safety officers in Lucknow city, out of 36 food samples, samples of 12 outlets failed the test. In which adulteration was detected in Chhappan Bhog’s mawa and Haldiram’s food samples failed the test. This proves that in the race to earn money, mischievous elements are playing with the lives of people in the name of dairy industry. Purity should be the priority for dairy industries. Most dairy industries take care of purity and deliver only pure milk to the people. In India, branded dairies include Amul, Paras, Gyan, Namaste India, Sudha, etc. Many local certified dairies are working in rural areas of India. All of them are far ahead in terms of quality and purity. All these dairies prove to be a boon for the people living in remote areas. In the city and area where there is a shortage of milk production, the shortage is met by these dairies. Overall, India is capable of producing as much milk as is consumed by the population. Therefore, we can say that dairies preserve and protect milk. India ranks first in milk production in the world. The 25th anniversary of World Milk Day is being celebrated in the year 2025. World Milk Day is celebrated every year on 1 June. The theme of World Milk Day 2025 is – Let us celebrate the power of dairy. In the true sense, we can celebrate the power of dairy only when milk and milk products reach every home with purity. It is necessary for dairy products to be pure. Purity is the sign of real health. Only then can we say that milk and milk products are the basis of global nutrition. The Government of India has made legal provisions to check the purity of milk and milk products, which is as follows- Under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2016, adulterating food items or selling adulterated food items is a crime. There is a provision for strict punishment for adulteration of milk and milk products. Under this Act, food safety officers can take samples of milk and milk products and send them for testing. If any adulteration is found, the officers can take appropriate action. The National Dairy Development Board in India works to expand the dairy industry. The founder of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was Dr. Verghese Kurien. Dr. Verghese Kurien is also called the father of the White Revolution in India. There are some government schemes that can be availed to make people or farmers self-reliant in the field of dairy. Under the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) of the Government of India, common citizens and farmers can open milk collection centers. Schemes like Nandini Krishak Samridhi Yojana, Kamdhenu Dairy Scheme, Nand Baba Dairy Mission etc. of the Government of Uttar Pradesh can help in opening a successful dairy industry. Therefore, the divinity of milk is incomplete without the dairy industry. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the source of the divinity of milk is the dairy itself. The dairy sector is the key to self-reliance. The growing dairy industry in the country is making people self-reliant. Self-reliance is an indicator of independence. Independence gives birth to comfort and peace. Therefore, we can say that self-reliance is a symbol of the power of dairy.

Author Dr. Shanker Suwan Singh Associate Professor Department of Food and Dairy Engineering Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences Naini, Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh)Contact no. – 9369442448 (Whatsapp), 9415557362 (Calling)