Is Drinking Milk Impure or Poisonous?
Bhubaneswar: Milk is one of the major means of meeting nutritional needs. Is this milk that we drink every day impure or poisonous? The milk available in the market is no longer limited to adulterated, it has become toxic. According to a national survey, one liter of milk for every 10 liters of milk available in the country is not consumable. The main reason behind this is said to be aflatoxin. Experts have suggested that there is a need to sensitize the pastoralists on the fact that young children are suffering from stomach ailments due to drinking contaminated milk.
- 30% of the milk samples in the state are of low-quality
- Experts are concerned about high levels of aflatoxin in milk
A fungus called aflatoxin infects the straw. It is found especially in the straw that has ripened during the rainy season. In order to save costs, the herdsmen give low-quality fodder instead of high-quality fodder. As they are unaware of aflatoxin, its presence is detected in the milk of cows or buffalos fed on dried straw, so there is a need to feed cows with green fodder for toxin-free milk. But with the scarcity of land, providing green fodder regularly to the cows has become a challenge. According to a professor at OUAT, rotting straw contains these aflatoxin fungi. We advise washing the straw with water and drying it in the autumn to give it to cows and buffalos on rainy days.
