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STUDY FINDS TOXICITY IN ANIMAL MILK IN SINDH

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STUDY FINDS TOXICITY IN ANIMAL MILK IN SINDH
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Unhealthy fodder develops Aflatoxin in animal milk, which is harmful for human health. Aflatoxin, a kind of toxin, is released through animal milk – Ph.D. Scholar Deepesh Kumar

Pakistan is one of the four largest milk producing countries in the world, but still spends more than 20 billion rupees on milk import – Dr. Fateh Marri, VC, SAU

From Our Correspondent 

Tando Jam

The unhealthy fodder given to the animals develops Aflatoxin, which is released through animal milk, and the people who consume such milk are also affected by the harmful effects of Aflatoxin.

This was stated by Ph.D. scholar Deepesh Kumar Bhuptani while speaking at degree awarding ceremony at Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam on Thursday.

Deepesh Kumar Bhuptani, Scholar of Animal Product Technologies, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences has completed his Ph.D. research on the topic of “Quantification of aflatoxin in milk and its intervening strategies”.

Aflatoxin_M1_in_Milk-835x420“During my research, I obtained milk samples from Karachi, Thatta, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot, Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushehro Feroze, Sukkur, and Larkana. All the collected samples were transported aseptically to the department of Animal Products Technology, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam for further analysis and found Aflatoxin in most of them,” he told.

Aflatoxin-magnified
Aflatoxin

Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts. The main fungi that produce aflatoxins are Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which are abundant in warm and humid regions of the world. Aflatoxin-producing fungi can contaminate crops in the field, at harvest, and during storage.

Dr. Fateh Marri, Vice Chancellor, Sindh Agriculture University, in his address said that Pakistan is one of the four largest milk producing countries in the world, but still spends more than 20 billion rupees on milk import.

Dr. Fateh Marri said that Pakistan is the fourth-largest producer of milk in the world, and about 80 percent of milk is produced on a small scale in rural areas.

Stating that the milk is wasted due to lack of cold storage, he advised dairy farmers and investors to also give preference to milk by-products.

He said that animal milk and its harmful effects on human health, medicines for animal diseases, and its treatment should be taken into consideration and dairy farms and veterinary doctors for domestic animals should be consulted.

Dr. Abdul Mubeen Lodhi, Director Advanced Studies, Dr. Syed Atta Shah, Dr. Saeed Soomro, Dr. Gul Bahar Khaskheli, Dr. Zubair Ahem Leghari, and others were also present on the occasion.

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