Dhaka University study finds antibiotics in pasteurised milk

Dhaka University researchers have found the presence of antibiotics in pasteurised milk of seven mostly sold brands.

The study conducted by a group of teachers at the Faculty of Pharmacy has found edible oil, spice powders, fruit juice, and ghee of some brands substandard.

They conducted the tests on samples of these products at the university’s Biomedical Research Centre and laboratories of the faculty, the centre’s director and pharmaceutical technology teacher Professor ABM Faroque said while presenting the findings at the faculty on Tuesday.

The levels for qualifying products are set by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution or BSTI.

The presence of antibiotics used to treat human beings in pasteurised milk is “very alarming”, the Dhaka University professor said. 

Levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were found in all seven of the pasteurised milk brands tested in the study.

Azithromycin was found in six of the brands, according to the study.

The seven milk brands surveyed in the research are Milkvita, Aarong, Farm Fresh, Pran, Igloo, Igloo Chocolate, and Igloo Mango.

The researchers also found fat and non-fat substances below the standard levels while the total bacteria count was more than the expected level in all the pasteurised samples.

Three of the seven brands of pasteurised milk and one of the three non-pasteurised milk were found containing detergent.

“The findings are based on the samples we had collected. The results do not mean all the products of these companies are same,” Prof Faroque told bdnews24.com.

He said people need to be alert about food adulteration as it slowly damages organs in human body.

Adulterated food products were affecting three groups of people mostly – children, pregnant women and foetus, and the elderly, according to the researcher.

“We often say that antibiotics are not working. The reason is that the antibiotics are already in our bodies,” he added.

BRAC Dairy and Food Enterprise, which produces Aarong milk, claimed in a statement that all of its products are tested by BSTI and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.

The company said it regularly sends samples of its products to the two agencies for tests and preserve the results for taking specific measures.

“No inconsistency or fail have been found in the reports on the tests in past one year,” BRAC Dairy said.

It referred to a news report that BSTI submitted a report to the High Court earlier in the day saying nothing worrying was found in Aarong pasteurised milk.

Surayya Siddiqua, head of marketing at Igloo, told bdnews24.com they recently had their pasteurised milk tested at the laboratories of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition and the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

“Besides these, BSTI also tested standards of Igloo milk recently. The three government agencies found the product standard,” she added.

Kamruzzaman Kamal, a director at PRAN RFL Group, said they collect milk from their own dairy hub and directly from enlisted contractual farmers.

Therefore, he suggested, there are no chances of adulterated and substandard milk finding a way to their system.

He said they process the milk in their "state-of-the-art" plant maintaining international standards. “So the milk is 100 percent safe and anyone can consume it without a doubt,” he said.

“As far as the Dhaka University report is concerned, they are no authority and I don't know what machines and methods they used to test it. I have my doubts about their capability as well,” he added.

He requested the government and other regulatory authorities to take measures to stop “this types of unauthorised person and organisation” from giving “unqualified opinion to the mass media which creates confusion” among the consumers.

Akij Food and Beverage Corporate Quality Head MM Iqbal Hossan said it would have been better if the stakeholders were invited to the release of the study finds so that they could explain their stance.

“We always try to prepare good food for the consumers and are committed to resolving any issues through scrutiny. We will check quality of our products again, carefully, following the findings of the research,” he added.

BSTI in a report submitted to the High Court earlier in the day said it found no harmful substance in 18 pasteurised milk products approved by the institution.

“It’s not that (quality) will be same in the next one year. It can often change,” BSTI lawyer MR Hasan Mamun said.

“These were alright when we collected the samples. Maybe there were some variations when they (Dhaka University teachers) collected the samples,” he added.

‘SUBSTANDARD’

The study found fruit juice, ghee, edible oil, and spice powders of different brands failed in tests of BSTI-set condition.

Banned artificial sweetener cyclamate was found in all 11 fruit drinks tested in the study.

Cyclamate is considered “very harmful”, the study said. 

Coliform was found in three of the products which indicates these may contain disease-causing organisms or pathogens.

The study named the fruit juice brands tested but did not specify which were found substandard.

Sesame oil was found in ghee of eight brands in violation of BSTI standards.

Water and iodine were also found to be more than the expected levels, according to the researchers.

The eight are Aarong, Baghabari, Pran, Milkvita, Milkman, Somir, and two without any name.