FSSAI has fixed the total sodium content at 55mg per 100g for milk and 650mg per 100g for milk powder. In this regard, the country’s apex food regulator has released a draft notification aimed at consolidating the standards for milk and milk products, particularly the sodium content, in accordance with the daily value.

The revised standards include those for goat and sheep milk, and the sodium content in milk and milk powder, besides standards for new milk products like medium-fat channa or paneer, whey cheese and cheese in brine.

The fat content and solids non-fat (SNF) content at for goat and sheep milk are fixed at three and nine m/m by percentile.

The draft also prescribed moisture for channa and paneer at 65 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, while for fat, the value by percentile is fixed at 50 for channa or paneer, between 15 and 50 for medium-fat channa or paneer and 15 for low-fat channa or paneer.

“This notification primarily deals with the level of sodium and fats in milk (goat and sheep) and milk powder. The sodium level in milk is related with the daily value (DV), considered suitable for human health. This notification seems primarily consolidating specifications more precisely and should be seen as a normal and positive move,” said Ashok Pandey, scientist, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow.

Further, the draft also prescribed the labelling guidelines for channa/paneer in case of low-fat paneer/channa, and that such product be sold only in sealed pack bearing a label saying low-fat paneer or low-fat channa or medium-fat paneer or medium-fat channa (as the case may be). The standards stated that the label must also contain the percentage of milk fat.

Said Mamta Thakur, research scholar, department of food engineering and technology, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab, “This is a great move to ensure the quality and safety of milk products. The industry must support and help food authority to manufacture products meeting the specifications in a time-bound manner.”

“In the long-run, it will benefit both the food industry and the consumer. I hope this will bring about a revolutionary impact on the industry. The quality of the final product will be improved and can perform better in global trade,” she added.