Abstract
We report physicochemical characteristics of various kinds of liquid milk commercially available in Pakistan in comparison with those of fresh natural milk from animals. Milk samples were collected from local markets at Peshawar, Pakistan, and analyzed for their physical features, including moisture, total solids, specific gravity, conductivity, viscosity and titratable acidity (lactic acid equivalent), and chemical components and macro-minerals, including total protein, casein, lactose, ash and minerals (Na, K and Mg). These items were compared with the physicochemical characteristics of the fresh natural milk samples from buffalo, cow and goat. The results were also compared with reported nutritional quality of milk from various countries and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. We found that all the physical features and chemical components of commercially available milk in Pakistan markets meet WHO’s requirements, except for Na, K, Ca and Mg, which are below the standards.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemistry), 2000. Official Methods of Analysis International, 17th Ed. AOAC, Washington, DC.
Baloch, M.S., Awan, I.U., hassan, G., 2006. Growth and yield of rice as affected by transplanting dates and seedlings per hill under high temperature of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B, 7(7):572–579. [doi:10.1631/jzus.2006.B0572]
Coni, E., Bocca, A., Ianni, D., Caroli, S., 1995. Preliminary evaluation of the factors influencing the trace element content of milk and dairy products. Food Chem., 52(2):123–130. [doi:10.1016/0308-8146(94)P4190-Q]
Dabeka, R.W., 1989. Survey of lead, cadmium, cobalt and nickel in infant formulas and evaporated milks and estimation of dietary intakes of the elements by infants 0–12 months old. Sci. Total Environ., 89(3):279–289. [doi:10.1016/0048-9697(89)90267-2]
Dabeka, R.W., McKenzie, A.D., 1987. Lead, cadmium and fluoride levels in market milk and infant formulas in Canada. J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem., 70(4):754–757.
Dobrzañski, Z., Kolacz, R., Górecka, H., Chojnacka, K., Bartkowiak, A., 2005. The content microelements and trace elements in raw milk from cows in the Silesian region. Polish J. Environ. Stud., 14(5):685–689.
Fernandez, D.R., Vanderjagt, D.J., Williams, M., Huang, Y.S., Chuang, L.T., Millson, M., Andrews, R., Pastuszyn, A., Glew, R.H., 2002. Fatty acid, amino acid, and trace mineral analyses of five weaning foods from Jos, Nigeria. Plant Foods Hum. Nutr., 57(3–4):257–274. [doi:10.1023/A:1021899103662]
Hallen, I.P., Jorhem, L., Lagerkvist, B.J., Oskarsson, A., 1995. Lead and cadmium levels in human milk and blood. Sci. Total Environ., 166(1–3):149–155. [doi:10.1010/0048-9697(95)04523-4]
Hassan, S.S., 2005. Quality Assurance of Various Dairy Products. MSc Thesis, Department of Chemistry, University of Peshawar, Paksiatn.
Honda, R., Tawara, K., Nishijo, M., Nakagawa, H., Tanebe, K., Saito, S., 2003. Cadmium exposure and trace elements in human breast milk. Toxicology, 186(3):255–259. [doi:10.1016/S0300-483X(03)00002-7]
Hussain, I., Ishaq, M., Rehman, I., Ahmad, I., Shakirullah, M., 2006. Comparative studies of vitamin C contents in different processed and un-processed milk samples. J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 28(3):236–240.
Ikem, A., Nwankwoala, A., Odueyungbo, S., Nyavor, K., Egiebor, N., 2002. Levels of 26 elements in infant formula from USA, UK, and Nigeria by microwave digestion and ICP-OES. Food Chem., 77(4):429–447. [doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(01)00378-8]
Jaffar, M., Shah, M.H., Shaheen, N., Khaliq, A., Tariq, S.R., Manzoor, S., Saqib, M., 2004. Pre-and post-expiry metal levels in canned dry milk. Nut. Food Sci., 34(2):65–71. [doi:10.1108/00346650410529023]
Khan, I., Zeb, A., 2007. Nutritional composition of Pakistani wheat varieties. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B, 8(8):555–559. [doi:10.1631/jzus.2007.B0555]
Kjeldahl, J., 1983. Determination of protein nitrogen in food products. Encyc. Food Agric., 28:757–765.
Krelowska-Kulas, M., 1990. Lead, cadmium, iron, copper and zinc in fresh milk from the selected areas of the Cracow region. Nahrung, 34(3):213–217 (in Polish). [doi:10.1002/food.19900340303]
Krelowska-Kulas, M., Kedzior, W., Popek, S., 1999. Content of some metals in goat’s milk from southern Poland. Nahrung, 43(5):317–319 (in Polish). [doi:10.1002/(SICI)1521-3803(19991001)43:5〈317::AID-FOOD317〉3.0.CO;2-L]
Perveen, F., Mumtaz, M., Usmani, T.H., 2005. Estimation of metal contents in different varieties of milk available in Karachi city. J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 27(6):611–614.
Plummer, D.T., 1988. An Introduction to Practical Biochemistry, 3rd Ed. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd., New Delhi, p. 160–161.
Rahman, S., Khalid, N., Zaidi, J.H., Ahmad, S., Iqbal, M.Z., 2006. Non-occupational lead exposure and hypertension in Pakistani adults. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B, 7(9):732–737. [doi:10.1631/jzus.2006.B0732]
Ramonaityte, D.T., 2001. Copper, zinc, tin and lead in canned evaporated milk, produced in Lithuania: the initial content and its change at storage. Food Addit. Contam., 18(1):31–37. [doi:10.1080/02652030010008805]
Rehman, Z.U., Salaria, A.M., 2005. Effect of storage conditions on the nutritional quality of UHT processed buffalo milk. J. Chem. Soc. Pak., 27(1):73–76.
Rodriguez, E.M., Sanz, A.M., Diaz, R.C., 2000. Concentration of iron, copper and zinc in human milk and powdered infant formula. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr., 51(5):373–380.
Simsek, O., Gultekin, R., Oksuz, O., Kurultay, S., 2000. The effect of environmental pollution on the heavy metal contents of raw milk. Nahrung, 44(5):360–363 (in Polish). [doi:10.1002/1521-3803(20001001)44:5〈360::AID-FOOD360〉3.0.CO;2-G]
Triebold, H.O., 2000. Quantitative Analysis with Applications to Agricultural and Food Products. Chapter XII, Second Printing, D. van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, p.204–221.
Vander-Jagt, D.J., Okolo, S.N., Romero, L., Millson, M., Glew, R.H., 2001. Lead levels in the milk of Fulani women in Nigeria. J. Natl. Med. Assoc., 93(3):104–108.
Vavilis, D., Bontis, J., Agorastos, T., Angelikakis, G., Zournatzi, V., Loufopoulos, A., Constantinou, A., Patsourou, A., 1997. Lead concentration in early human milk of urban and rural mothers. Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol., 24(4):198–199.
Webb, B.H., Johnson, A.H., Alford, J.A., 1974. Fundamental of Dairy Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Chapter I, AVI Publishing Co., Westport, CT.
WHO, 1989. Minor and Trace Elements in Breast Milk. In: Report of Joint WHO/IAEA Collaborative Study. World Health Organization, Geneva, p.157–159.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Imran, M., Khan, H., Hassan, S.S. et al. Physicochemical characteristics of various milk samples available in Pakistan. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 9, 546–551 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B0820052
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B0820052