| Abstract: |
Just when one thought that the scandal over milk adulteration could not possibly get any bigger along comes confirmation that contamination exists even in unbranded powdered milk. A research team at Karachi University has found a high concentration of lead — a toxic metal — in samples of unbranded powdered milk tested recently. The lead content in dry milk samples collected from the city’s neighbourhoods of Quaidabad to Gulistan-e-Jauhar and from Orangi Town to Shah Faisal Colony was indeed alarming, setting off fears of serious health risks to both adults and children through chronic or short-term exposure. Traces of cadmium and arsenic were also found in a few limited samples but it is lead that poses the single biggest threat to consumers. High levels of exposure can result in damage to the brain and central nervous system and ultimately induce a life-threatening coma. |
