Dreaming of a seamless integrated cold chain for the world’s second largest dairy producer
We very proudly read of the value of the Indian dairy industry expecting to touch Rs 5 lakh crore by 2015, with milk output pegged at 190 million tonnes. It also seems so lucrative to learn that India being the world's largest milk producer accounts for around 20 per cent of global milk production, with most of it consumed domestically. In India, about 60 per cent of milk is consumed in liquid form, while the remaining 40 per cent is used in the form of butter, clarified butter (desi ghee), cheese, curd, paneer, ice cream, dairy whiteners and traditional sweets. However do we really know how much of this milk that is abundantly produced is fit and safe for consumption? And why does this safety question crop up in our minds? Yes, we are discussing the Indian Dairy Cold Chain.
Growing at about 10% annually, the Indian dairy industry is predominantly controlled by the unorganised sector, which accounts for nearly 85%. About eight crore rural families across India are engaged in dairy production and the rural market consumes over half of the total milk produced.
According to a study by ASSOCHAM, an upward spiral in prices, the lack of proper infrastructure for storage & distribution and absence of a transparent milk pricing system are affecting retail consumption of milk and leading to escalating milk prices in the domestic market.
(Farmer selling extracted milk at collection centre)
DAIRY – ‘farm to home’ : An outlook
Raw Milk is often made to undergo some processes which are applied to it before it comes to the market for selling. Chilling, packaging and transportation of milk is a part of dairy technology that deals with milk processing on an industrial scale.
The task of procuring milk and getting it to our dairy processing plants is a complex problem involving ownership, pricing, collecting, grading, measuring, weighing, testing, bulking, transporting, chilling, packaging and heating. Milk must be cooled as soon as possible after it is produced. A temperature of 4°C or less is recommended. It is very necessary, because as long as this temperature is maintained, bacterial action in the milk is retarded if not prevented.
Chilling of Milk: The Importance
Chilling of milk means rapid cooling of raw milk to sufficiently low temperature so that the growth of microorganisms present in milk is checked.In chilling process the temperature of milk should be reduced to preferably 4degcentigrade.
Milk inside the udder is almost sterile and as soon as it leaves the udder, it is exposed to atmospheric conditions. Micro-organisms gain rapid entry into the milk. Various sources which contribute to the micro flora in milk are milk containers, udder of the animal, dust and dirt particles, fodder, leaves, air, the milker and the animal itself. The number and type of micro-organisms would depend upon the conditions and the sources of contamination.
(Growth of bacteria at various temperatures, source: Emerson)
As soon as micro-organisms get into the milk, they start growing rapidly because milk contains all the nutrients required for their growth. If the growth of microorganisms is not checked then several biochemical changes will take place in milk. Due to these changes the quality of milk is adversely affected, and the milk becomes unfit for consumption. Since most of the milk is produced in the rural areas under unhygienic conditions, hence, keeping quality of raw milk is very low.Therefore, chilling is considered necessary soon after it is extracted at the farm level – at its very source.The most effective means of controlling the growth of micro-organisms without effecting the physico-chemical properties and nutritive value of milk is to chill it. Lower temperature inhibits the growth of most of the micro-organisms.
Refrigerated Transportation: Need of the Hour
(Transportation of milk by farmers – exposure of raw milk to heat and unprotected temperature conditions thereby inducing high bacterial growth)
Contrary to a Dairy farmer in developed countries extracting more than 1000Lts per day, an average Indian Dairy Farmer at max owns 4 to 5 cows extracting less than 40 litres per day.
Indian dairy farmers typically extract milk and collectively store them in milk cans and transport it (unrefrigerated) to the nearby Milk Collecting Agents / milk co-operative societies in their locality. We are talking about a couple of hours of exposure to ambient and bacterial growth before the farmer can bring the milk to the nearby, assigned chilling center. There once the milk is graded according to its qualitative aspects, the collected milk is then stored in BULK MILK COOLERS (typically with capacities more 500 litres) to preserve them before any processing.
Here again at the chilling center again, it takes close to 3 hours for the milk Chillers to chill the milk to +4degC – ideal storage temperature. The problem with the current system is that the extracted milk is not preserved in the required temperature (+4⁰C) until it reached the collection centres thereby exposing the milk to high micro-organism growth leading to poor quality of milk with reduced shelf life and quality. Milk from these chilling centersis then transported to the factory in INSULATED tankers – NOT refrigerated ones. What happens after production of packeted milk ready to be sold? These precooled milk packets from factory are transported in INSULATED Container bodies fabricated on Trucks – again, NOT refrigerated ones.
When Ice cream and frozen food have the privilege of being transported in Refrigerated Trucks in India, why is DAIRY – the primary source of Nutrition and Calcium for Humans being IGNORED its right to Refrigerated Transportation? Perhaps the damage to due ineffective or lack of cold chain is very obvious in melted Ice cream or thawed frozen food than milk. After all, a consumer only realizes the lack of Cold Chain when Milk turns bad in the kitchen. But then, it’s a bit too late. The consumer is left to compromise on the bad quality and continues to use another packet of milk for consumption.
Dairy Co-operatives and private players have all this while been focusing on establishing cold chain from chilling centres to the production of milk. The very critical area of cold chain at source and last-mile distribution has not been paid much attention. As much as it is important to chill milk at source to refrain bacterial growth, it is important to use refrigerated transportation for last-mile distribution as well.
Is there a solution to bring a dramatic change in current Indian Dairy Cold Chain -at farm level and in last mile distribution? Apparently the answer seems to be YES with the intensive research and product development initiative taken up by BHARAT REFRIGERATIONS PVT LTD, a Chennai based refrigeration research& engineering company. While they have developed Mini Milk Coolers targeted to SOLVE the current hurdles and inefficiencies of Cold Chain that our Dairy Farmers face, they have been successfully revolutionizing the Indian market with their refrigerated truck brand Transfreez.
The mini milk coolers that are patent protected are designed with 40 & 50Lts capacity which run on single phase power available in villages. And the good news is that these mini milk coolers are chargeable during 8 hours of poweravailability during any part of the day and sustains cooling in the milk container for upto 20 hours without any need of electricity. Another good news? An alternative of solar energy can also be used to charge these milk Chillers to retail cooling for the entire day. The best news of all is that the milk that is poured is instantly chilled, completely arresting the inhibition and growth of bacteria.
Mini milk coolers are designed to rapidly chill and maintain temperature of milk at +4⁰C constantly to reduce the temperature of milk for minimizing the bacterial growth thereby ensuring its food safety and quality.The main objective of these mini-milk coolers is to enhance quality of milk at its SOURCE, avoidingeconomic losses to farmersdue to spoilage. We are talking about raising Indian Dairy standards to global level - that is, raising the quality of 130 million tonnes of milk produced by our Nation and avoiding economic losses to 8 crore rural families engaged in Dairy production.
And now, dreaming of a seamless, integrated cold chain for the world’s second largest dairy producer seems to becoming a reality.
- Divya V Amrith, Director-Marketing & Strategy
Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers
