As the name suggests, synthetic milk is not milk, but an entirely different component that has been heavily adulterated to increase milk volume and therefore profits. It is usually a mixture of water, detergent or soap powder, sodium hydroxide, vegetable oil, salt and urea.
The ease and speed with which milk can be adulterated has always tempted unscrupulous milk sellers to engage in fraudulent practices and adulterate milk. Ever-increasing greed has given way to the development of a new type of adulterated milk known as synthetic milk.
Similar to the production of genuine milk, the practice of preparing synthetic milk also begins at the village level. Notorious locations for synthetic milk production include parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in India. Slowly but steadily, the practice is spreading to other parts of India.
How is synthetic milk produced?
Refined vegetable oil (any brand) with a butyrorefractometer reading of less than 42 is taken in a wide-mouth container together with a suitable emulsifier and mixed well so that the entire contents become a thick white paste. Once this has been achieved, water is slowly added to the paste until the density of the liquid is similar to that of milk. Urea or sodium sulfate or glucose or maltose is then added or sometimes any of the commonly available fertilizers are added. These substances are usually dissolved in hot water and then added to the seemingly milky solution.
The refined oil in synthetic milk acts as a fat source while the hot solution of any of the aforementioned substances acts as a solid non-fat (SNF) source. The ingredients involved in the production of synthetic milk are calculated in such a way that the percentage of fat and SNF is similar to that of mixed milk. Therefore, it easily passes the platform tests conducted in the village-level dairy cooperative society (fat reading and lactometer, etc.), but from the point of view of consumers’ health, it is very dangerous. The taste is highly objectionable.
To learn more about how to differentiate synthetic milk from normal healthy milk (genuine milk) visit synthetic milk
The author is a dairy expert, specializing in dairy food technology and microbiology, and has a Ph.D. in Dairy Sciences. For more information on milk and dairy products, visit Ella’s site A Professional Dairy Site