National Milk Day 26 November 2020, About Milk and it's Constituents, Nutritive value etc.

  Dear Readers,

          Welcome to my Blog "Vetcapsule". I have prepared a blog on the occasion of National Milk Day. Which is celebrated every year all over the country on 26 November.                                    Six years ago, National Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2014. Amul founder, Verghese Kurien is known as the "Milkman of India" and his birth anniversary on 26 November is celebrated as National milk day in India. The day is commemorated on this date to honor Dr. Verghese Kurien who is considered to be the Father of India's White Revolution. The largest milk producing country celebrates this day to demonstrate the importance of milk in everyone’s life.

Why is National Milk Day Celebrated?

The day is dedicated to honoring Dr. Verghese Kurien, who is considered to be the father of India’s White Revolution. November 26 is also his birth anniversary, which is why this day is even more important as it also highlights his contribution to the country’s dairy farming and production.

First National Milk Day :

The Indian Dairy Association (IDA) in 2014, took the initiative to celebrate this day for the first time. The first National Milk Day was marked on November 26, 2014, in which various milk producers from 22 states participated.                 Kerala-born, Dr. Verghese Kurien is known as the ‘Milkman of India’ and the father of the 1970s White Revolution. He came with the one billion liter idea of turning a milk-guzzling country into the world’s top dairy producer. His accolades include Ramon Magsaysay Award, World Food Prize, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Wateler Peace Prize.

"Milk is one of the best sources of calcium and the only drink in the world that contains such a large amount of natural nutrients."

About Milk:   

CONSTITUENTS OF MILK

• MAJOR CONSTITUENTS OF MILK

[1]. H2O

[2]. FAT

[3]. PROTEIN

[4]. LACTOSE (CBH)

[5]. ASH/Mineral Matter

• MINOR CONSTITUENTS OF MILK

[1]. Phospholipid

[2]. Sterol

[3]. Vitamins

[4]. Enzymes

[5]. Pigments

 The Physico-chemical property of milk

[A]. The physical state of milk

[B]. Acidity and pH of milk

[C]. Density and Specific Gravity of milk

[D]. The freezing point of milk

[E]. Color of milk

[F]. Flavor

Factors Affecting the Composition of Milk

Milk differs widely in composition. All milk contains the same kind of constituents but in varying amounts. Milk from individual cows shows greater variation than mixed herd milk. The variation is always greater in small herds than in large ones. In general, milk fat shows the greatest daily variation, and then comes protein, followed by ash and sugar.

• The factors affecting the composition of milk is:-

1. Species: - Each species yields milk of a characteristic composition.
2. Breed: - In general, breeds producing the largest amounts of milk and milk of a lower fat percentage.
3. Individuality: - Each cow tends to yield milk of a composition that is characteristic of the individual.
4. Interval of milking: - In general, a longer interval is associated with more milk with a lower-fat test.
5. Completeness of milking: - If the cow is completely milked, The test is normal; if not, it is usually lower.
6. Frequency of milking: -Whether a cow is milked two, three, or four times a day, it has no great effect on the fat test.
7. Irregularity of milking: -Frequent changes in the time and interval of milking result in lower tests. 
8. Day-to-day milking: - May show variations for the individual cow.
9. Disease and abnormal conditions: - These tend to alter the composition of milk, especially when they result in a fall in yield.
10. Portion of milking: - Foremilk is low in fat content (less than 1 percent), while stripping is highest (close to 10 percent). The other milk constituents are only slightly affected on a fat-free basis.
11. Stage of lactation: - The first secretion after calving (Colostrum) is very different from milk in its composition and general properties. The change from colostrum to milk takes place within a few days.
12. Yield: - For a single cow, there is a tendency for increased yields to be accompanied by a lower fat percentage and vice versa.
13. Feeding: - Has a temporary effect only.
14. Season: - The percentages of both fat and solids-not-fat show slight but well-defined variations during the course of the year.
15. Age: - The fat percentage in milk declines slightly as the cow grows older.
16. Condition of a cow at calving: - If the cow is in good physical condition when calving, it will yield milk of a higher fat percentage than it would if its physical condition was poor.
17. Excitement: - Both yield and composition of milk are liable to transient fluctuations during periods of excitement, for whatever reason.
18. Administration of drugs and hormones: - Certain drugs may affect temporary change in the fat percentage; injection or feeding of hormones results in an increase of both milk yield and fat percentage.

Food and Nutritive Value of Milk

Milk is an almost ideal food. It has a high nutritive value. It supplies body-building proteins, bone-forming minerals, and health-giving vitamins and furnishes energy-giving lactose and milk fat. Besides supplying certain essential fatty acids, it contains the above nutrients in an easily digestible and assimilable form. All these properties make milk important food for pregnant mothers, growing children, adolescents, adults, invalids, convalescents, and patients alike.

(1) Proteins: - Milk proteins are complete proteins of high quality, i.e. they contain all the essential amino-acids in fairly large quantities.

(2) Minerals: - Practically all the mineral elements found in milk are essential for nutrition. Milk is an excellent source of calcium and phosphorus, both of which, together with vitamin D, is essential for bone formation. Milk is rather low in iron, copper, and iodine.

(3) Vitamins: - These are accessory food factors that are essential for normal growth, health, and the reproduction of living organisms. Milk is a good source of vitamin A provided the cow is fed sufficient green .feed and fodder), vitamin B (provided the cow is exposed to enough sunlight), thiamine, riboflavin, etc. However, milk is deficient in vitamin C.

     •The drawbacks are: it is very bulky: and is deficient in iron, copper, and vitamin C.

(4) Fat: - Milkfat (lipid) plays a significant role in the nutritive value, flavor, and physical properties of milk and milk products. Besides serving as a rich source of energy, fat contains significant amounts of so-called essential fatty acids linoleic and arachidonic) the most distinctive role which milk fat plays in dairy products concerns flavor. The rich pleasing flavor of milk lipids is not duplicated by any other type of fat Milk far imparts a soft body, smooth texture, and rich taste to dairy products. Lastly, milk lipids undoubtedly enhance the consumer acceptability of foods; they also serve the best interests of human nutrition through the incentive of eating what tastes good.

(5) Lactose: - The principal function of lactose (carbohydrate) is to supply energy. However, lactose also helps to establish a mildly acidic reaction in the intestine which checks the growth of proteolytic bacteria and facilitates assimilation.

(6) Energy value: - The energy-giving milk constituents and their individual contributions as follows:

• Milk fat                              9.3 C/g
• Milk Protein                      4.1 C/g
• Milk Sugar                         4.1 C/g

Where 1 C (Food Calorie) =1000 c (small calorie).

Note. The energy value of milk will vary with its composition. On average, cow milk furnishes 75 C/100 g and buffalo milk 100 C/100 g.

(7) Effect of processing: - (i) Pasteurization carried out with reasonable care has no effect on vitamin A, carotene, riboflavin, and a number of remaining vitamins B, and vitamin D. Of the remainder, a 10 percent loss of thiamine and a 20 percent loss of ascorbic acid may be expected. (ii) Sterilization increases the losses of thiamine and ascorbic acid to 30-50 percent and 50 percent respectively, though the remaining vitamins are but little affected.

(8) A balanced diet is essential for proper health and growth. The role of milk and milk products in providing the nutrients required for a balanced diet.