Pesticide Residues Contamination of Liquid Milk in India-a Review

Abstract

Dairy milk is found contaminated with persistent insecticides residues.Persistance of pesticides residue in milk depends on its stability, mode of application, duration of intake or exposure and its metabolic fate in the animal. DDT and HCH were found in milk and milk product samples from Maharashtra. The contamination of liquid milk collected from the milk fed depots of Ludhiana revealed the presence of gamma-HCH (lindane) above its maximum residue limit (MRL) of 0.01 mg/kg (based on a whole milk basis), monocrotophos, methyl parathion, chlorpyriphos, quinalphos and triazophos were not found at the detection limit of 0.01 mg/kg (whole milk basis), where as synthetic pyrethroids, viz. cypermethrin, fenvalerate and deltamethrin, were also not detected at 0.01 mg/kg (whole milk basis). A comparison of the results of liquid milk samples from milkfed depots and local vendors of Ludhiana revealed that the lindane and DDT residues were present more often in the standardized liquid milk samples from milkfed (lindane, 57.1% and DDT, 8.6%) than in the samples collected from local vendors (lindane, 40.9% and DDT, 0%). DDT was also found in the milk samples collected during 2000 and 2001 from milk fed depots of Ludhiana.