Could Milk Be White Poison?

Consumption of adulterated milk can cause serious health issues like heart problem, cancer, and sometimes even death.

Milk by itself may be safe, but what is added to it could be dangerous, according to indianexpress.

Adulterating milk due to greed, lack of knowledge and lack of hygiene makes it fatal. However, after adding water to milk, the adulterator adds other substances to improve its "thickness, taste, density and viscosity", such as "formalin, urea, starch, neutralizers, detergents, sodium chloride, skimmed milk powder, sucrose, glucose/dextrose, and hydrogen peroxide".

Referred to as solid-non-fats (SNF), they are used to cover the lack of natural fats missing in the milk.

However, even raw milk is said to be dangerous. According to the US Centres For Disease Control, raw milk is "one of the world's most dangerous foodstuffs", according to iol.  If it is not handled properly, unpasteurised milk is a "breeding ground for salmonella, listeria, E.coli and TB---bacteria that cause serious and sometimes fatal illness".

In fact, raw milk could be so dangerous that it is banned from being sold directly in England and Wales, and is also banned completely in Scotland, Australia and around half the states in the US.

Hence, most of the milk that is bought is "heat-treated, or pasteurized", so that harmful bacteria can be killed. Most milk is heated to 72c for at least 15 seconds, which would make the milk hot enough, without ruining its flavor.

Last year, the Food Standards Agency issued a warning to parents that children should not be given raw milk, after five youngsters got E.coli poisoning. After a couple of children drank raw milk sold by Barton Farm Dairy in Barnstaple, Devon, they contracted food poisoning.

The FSA is considering taking action against the farmers.