A comprehensive review on adulteration of milk

Abstract

Milk is a wholesome nutritious dairy product and is consumed by a majority of the population worldwide for drinking as such, as well as via dairy products. However, the practice of adulteration of milk invariably reduces its quality and may introduce hazardous substances into the dairy supply chain jeopardizing consumers’ health. Various instances of adulteration of milk have been reported globally, wherein substances such as extraneous water, foreign proteins, whey proteins, melamine and urea, vegetable or animal fats, plus many minor constituents of milk fat have been added as potential adulterants in milk and milk products. This review focused on some common and some advanced methods for detection of these adulterants. This review includes some laboratory methods that regularly followed in dairy industry and some advanced technique like HPLC, Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy, DNA based methods like PCR, Immunological procedures, Gas chromatography, Biosensor etc. This review intends to contribute towards the common as well as advanced knowledge base regarding possible milk adulterants and their detection techniques.