'Saaf Doodh, Sehat Mehfooz’: PMA puts spotlight on adulterated milk

Karachi: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) recently held a press conference where they announced to run a campaign for the availability of clean milk. The event was attended by Dr S M Qaisar Sajjad, Secretary-General, PMA Centre, Dr Qazi Muhammad Wasiq, Treasurer, PMA, Dr S Tipu Sultan, Ex-President, PMA, Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, General-Secretary, PMA Karachi, and Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, Ex- Secretary-General, PMA.
PMA leaders, while addressing to the press conference, expressed their concerns regarding healthcare as well as the burden of diseases, the unavailability of healthcare providers, and the plight of the poor masses.
“In 2020, we have decided to run public awareness campaigns regarding health-related issues. We are going to start a campaign called ‘Saaf Doodh, Sehat Mehfooz’ (Clean Milk, Healthy Life) for clean milk,” they stated.
The PMA officials said that 90% of our population was consuming open milk from the retailers, whereas only about 10% of people use packaged milk. They believed that the open milk available in the market was not safe for human consumption, as proven by scientific studies and experiences of the developed and civilized world.
PMA stated that with the exception of a few countries, including Pakistan and India, nowhere in the world was unpackaged milk available. Milk was supposed to be a complete diet, especially for children, elderly, and pregnant women. Unpackaged milk could not provide the required nutrition because of its rampant adulteration with contaminated and unclean water. Open milk was more liable to be infected with bacteria because buffalo and cow pens were not maintaining hygiene standards.
The quality of the milk was not sustained as different people use different methods of feeding the animal, milking, and transporting the milk. Additionally, the milk was often contaminated with Aflatoxin, told PMA.
PMA highlighted that the people involved in animal care had no concept of hand-washing and personal hygienic care. The containers used for transporting the milk are also unclean. “The milk market is disgusting. Vendors often use their bare hands to take the milk out of the containers. There have been various accounts of vendors mixing different chemicals to make the milk thicker, which further compromises its safety,” said PMA Representatives.
The PMA advised the public to avoid open milk and choose packaged/pasteurized milk for better health and nutrition and to prevent waterborne diseases and any infection due to contamination.
The PMA noted that packaged milk was clean and safe. It was UHT (Ultra-High Temperature processing) treated and thus free from any contamination. “Packaged milk does not contain Aflatoxin, which is a kind of fungus consumed by the animals through substandard fodder. This fungus has been proven to cause liver cancer. Packaged and pasteurized milk is also free from preservatives or chemicals,” informed PMA officials.