The 37th Meeting of Dairy Club (Joint Venture of Alltech and UVAS) was held on Monday August 18, 2014 at Syndicate Room UVAS. Following was the agenda of meeting:

Minutes of meetings are as follows:

Prof. Dr. Ghulam Habib delivered lecture on “Public Health Risk in Dairy Chain in Pakistan”. During his lecture he discussed:

Public Health Risk in Dairy Chain in Pakistan

Introduction

Food-borne diseases are a threat and are responsible for >50% cases of mortality to children

• Bacterial milk contamination causes:
• Milk spoilage
• Milk-born zoonotic diseases
• Non bacterial contamination & adulterants in milk are on rise in Pakistan and has sparked consumers health concern
• Dairy industry in Pakistan is dominated by unpasteurized milk & informal markets ---open to contamination

Problem statement

• Risks of milk safety hazards in informal market are high and undocumented in Pakistan
• Previous studies on public health risks along the milk chain in Pakistan are ;
• –scarce
• –unorganized
• –poorly designed
• –based on traditional less sensitive diagnostic tests
• –used piece meal approach

Milk Infection & Contaminants

Microbial:

• Brucella spp.
• Campylobacter spp.
• Escherichia coli (STEC)
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Salmonella spp.
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Mycobacterium spp.
• Yersinia enterocolitica
• Cryptosporidium, etc……

Chemical

• Heavy metals (Pb, CU, Cd etc.)
• Aflatoxins /mycotoxins
• Pesticides and other agro-chemicals
• Drug residues (antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, etc.)
• Hormones
• Adulterants (Non-food chemicals)

Brucellosis:

• Agent: Gram-, non-motile, cocco-bacillus
• Ecology: Concentration in milk, urine and genital fluids of infected animals
• Manifestation: Undulating fever, arthralgia, arthritis, orchitis, endocarditis
• Illness: severe, not self- limiting

One of the most widespread zoonosis in the world after Rabies.

• Brucellosis has a considerable impact on animal and human health, with wide socio-economic impacts
• Endemic in Pakistan
• Transmitted thru drinking un-boiled milk & handling cows/buffaloes

E. Coli:
Agent: Gram- motile rod, high genetic diversity
Ecology: Commensal in lower intestine of warm-blooded animals
Manifestation: severe acute hemorrhagic diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, severe kidney problem in children & brain problems in elderly
Illness: severe but usually self-limiting

Salmonella Enterica:
Manifestation: Diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps & may cause serious complications in vulnerable individuals
Illness: serious but usually self-limiting
S. aureus:
Milk samples from 10 locations in District Lahore all positive Count ranged from 7.1 to 12.6 x 106 cfu/ml (Farhan & Salik, 2007) Whole milk & Ice creams potential source

Mycobacterium:
Milk & Feaces as main source of infection spread 56% of the Positive buffalo were found shed mycobacteria in milk & feaces

Mycotoxins in milk
Class of toxins produced by molds Aspergillus flavus & A. parasiticus

• Approx. 20, of which B1, B2, G1 and G2 most common
• Aflatoxins M1, M2 - metabolites of B1 and B2 - in the milk of animals fed on moldy feed
• MRL in milk: USA 500 nano-gram/lit; EU 50 ng/lit

Toxic metals in milk:

• High mycotoxins ingestion contribute to liver diseases
• Every 4th patient admitted in medical ward has liver related disorders in Pakistan

Heavy Metals:
Cadmium, copper, chromium, lead (Pb), etc.

• Sources: Sewerage water use for drinking, irrigation, washing, industrial production processes, road traffic
• Accumulation in kidneys, liver and bone-marrow,
• Interferes with development of nervous system (children at high risk !!)
• Symptoms: abdominal pain, headache, anemia, seizures, coma
• Effects on kidneys and blood reversible, those on nervous system not
• MRL in milk: 20 micro-gram per liter

Milk Adulterants:
Urea / Melamine (as protein booster) 30%
Substandard cooking oil 70%
Powdered water chestnut 40%
Formalin 35%
Penicillin for enhancing thickness & fragrance 47%
Hair removing powder 27%
Soda bicarb/Borax 35%

Pesticides residues in Milk:
17-20% milk samples exceeded MRL Enter through feed consumed by the animal High risk of pesticides in milk---poisoning Infants at high risk of neurodevelopmental problems

Chemical & Drug residues:
Residues of about 80 drugs identified in animal source food by US-FDA

• Antibiotics are most frequently & indiscriminately used in Pakistan
• ß - lactam is the oldest group of antibiotics which are frequently used for the treatment of sick animals in Pakistan.(Penicillin, Ampicillin Oxacillin, Amoxicillin, Dicloxacillin,Cephalexin and Cephairin)

–implicated in a wide variety hypersensitivity reactions of multisystems (Skin, bone marrow, lungs, liver and heart)

Way Forward

Raining Farmers and Consumers awareness on human health threats in milk

• Focused, properly planned & transdisciplinary research using modern & sensitive techniques - Quantitative Risk Assessment
• Understanding the whole dairy value chain to identify entry points for milk contamination
• Highlight economic impact of reducing milk born health hazards
• Development of easy, accurate and cheap field level tests for quick screening
• Monitoring, Legislation, Regulation
• Evidence based advocacy to inform policy decision for legislation

It was such an interactive session; almost 30 participants attended the meeting and shared various experiences regarding the subject.