Impact of household practices on the nutritional profile of milk.

BACKGROUND It is a common practice to process milk before consumption. Processing generally involves boiling, addition of sugar and/or condiments, dilution with water, etc. The boiled milk is stored for subsequent use either at room temperature or under refrigerated conditions. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to see the effect of household practices on the nutritional profile of milk. MATERIALS AND METHODS Different types of pasteurized milk samples: standardized, double toned, full cream, and unpasteurized milk were analyzed. The effect of household practices on the nutritional profile of all these milk samples was studied using National/International methods. RESULTS Boiling of milk increased the concentration of most of the components and minerals except for vitamins A, B 3 , B 5 , and B 12 where the decrease observed was 21%, 13%, 3%, and 21%, respectively. Addition of water decreased the concentration of minerals and vitamins. Addition of sugar increased the energy and condiments increased total solids, carbohydrate and minerals content but led to a decrease in the vitamin content. Storage of milk led to a decrease in total solids by 19% and vitamins A, B 3 , B 5 , and B 12 by 26%, 17-19%, 23%, and 18-26%, respectively. The pH was not influenced by any of the household practices. CONCLUSION Every step during household practices in the handling of milk reduces its nutritional profile and significantly affects the quality. Vitamins play a very important role in health and loss during household processing becomes an interesting attribute that requires further research in detail.