ORGANIC MILK: A GENERALIZED OVERVIEW

ORGANIC MILK: A GENERALIZED OVERVIEW

Santanu Nath¹, Ankita Pal¹ ,  Satyabrat Dutta²

1. Division of Livestock Products Technology, ICAR-IVRI Bareilly (U.P.)
2. Division of Veterinary Microbiology, ICAR-IVRI Bareilly (U.P.)

Introduction:

In this recent era, demands for organic foods and drinks have increased worldwide. Organically produce milk and dairy products represents a growing segments of food industry in the UK and Europe. In developed countries consumers are more likely prefer high quality safe food with minimal losses of environment (De Boer, & I. J. 2003). Organic farming can be a solution to fulfil these public demands and can improve health as well as welfare status of an animals and help to reduce environmental pollution from agriculture production (Sundrum, 2001).

Codex Alimentarius Commission Guidelines and FAO (2002) defines Organic farming as “a holistic production management system, which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm agronomic, biological and mechanical methods in exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs”.

When compared to traditional farming, organic ways of raising animals ensure superior conditions for preserving the physiological, ethological, and developmental needs of the animals. Organic farming has various advantages for the environment, including fewer chemical inputs, preserved soil, and less aquifer pollution. However, compared to conventional farming, organic farming includes higher expenses, which may act as a barrier to entry (Gardebroek, Chavez, & Lansink, 2010).

Organic milk is the milk that comes from cows whose milk production was not prompted by an artificial growth hormone, whose feed was not grown with pesticides, and which had access to pasture. For production of organic milk standard production and handling procedure was followed.In general, the livestock used to produce organic milk must be maintained using the methods of organic farming as defined in the jurisdiction where the milk will be sold, and generally must be certified to be marketed as organic. Main reasons for opting organic products by the consumers related to human health, animal welfare and environmental and societal issue.

As per FAO (2008) global market for organic products was 38.6 billion USD and about 130 countries are practicing organic agriculture and it is growing @ 15-20% per annum. Globally the area under organic agriculture is 30.4 m ha. In India, area under organic certification process is 8. 65 lakh ha (Yadav, 2008).In USA organic milk constitutes 3 % of total milk production and growing rapidly @ 25 % per annum.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ORGANIC DAIRY SECTORS:

The principle of organic farming or organic livestock production is mainly on the management of internal farm resources rather than the external resources. According to the new European regulation organic livestock production or especially dairy production sectors depends on following farm and livestock production practices:

1. A land-related activity is raising organic livestock. Organic livestock production must, in theory, have a strong contact with the environment to prevent environmental damage, especially of natural resources like the soil and water.
2. Animal should have sufficient area for grazing and free movement. Confinement of animals for a long period is not allowed.
3. Aside from a few limited exceptions (for ruminants, 10% of DM of defined components may be of conventional origin), all feed for organic animals must be prepared organically.Pesticide free green fodder and feed in a sufficient amountshould be offered to the animals.
4. The primary focus of managing animal health should be prevention (using the right breeds, a well-balancedhigh-quality diet, and a supportive environment in terms of stocking density and husbandry techniques). The use of chemically synthesized medication in preventive purpose is also not acceptable in organic farming practices but in case of sick and injured animals, health should be managed with almost nil to very restricted use of the allopathic medicines including the antibiotics and hormones. Although this situation effect the status of organic certification for a certain periods. In organic livestock farm practices preventive measurements is the best way to maintain the organic certification, followed by the uses of Ayurvedic medicine and other indigenous practices.
5. It is important to give preference to breeds that can adapt to the environment where they are raised. Producing organically cannot coexist with the use of genetically modified organisms or goods generated from them.In organic farming Pure livestock breeds are preferred and Local breeds are to be encouraged. Cross breeding goes against the philosophy of organic milk production.
6. As per Indian standard Artificial insemination is not allowed in organic management practices but European standard allows the artificial insemination.
7. Housing should meet the animals’ demands for air, light, room, and comfort, and there should be enough space to let the animals to walk around freely and exhibit their natural social behaviour. Enough clean drinking water should be offered to the animals(Hovi, M., & Bouilhol, M. 2000).

OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC DAIRY SECTOR IN INDIA:

India is land of agriculture, here people are rearing animals from ancient times and now its become a culture in rural areas, some following opportunities will help to adapt the organic farming practices in India:

• Existence of mixed farming systems.
• Hardy and disease resistant native dairy breeds.
• A significant area easily convertible to organic one.
• Cheap and easily available labor.
• Rained agriculture.
• Increasing health consciousness etc.

CERTIFICATION FOR ORGANIC PRODUCT:

In the world, there are five primary organic certification standards that are more widely accepted, Followed by:

• International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) basic standards.
• Organic food products act of USA.
• EU regulations.
• Draft guidelines of Codex/WHO/FAO
• UK register of organic food standards (UKROFS)

National Standards for Organic Production(NSOP) have been created by the Indian government. These guidelines were released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP, 2002).

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ORGANIC MILK:

• No chemical contamination in organic milk. Feeds for organic animals are reared in without using any pesticides.It is mandatory for USDA organic labeled milk to come from cows which have not been treated with antibiotics to increase milk yield.The consumption of concentrate and use of veterinary medicines is drastically reduced in organic animals. Therefor the organic milk is not contaminated withsuch harmful chemical residues such as pesticides, fertilizer, hormones, and antibiotic.
• Organic Milk contain more hearts healthy fatty acids. Organic milk also helps to maintain the balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids in our body which is integral for heart health and cardiovascular diseases.Organic milk also contains higher level of omega-3 fatty acids. University of Liverpool showed that organic milk contains 68% more omega-3 fatty acids. Their deficiency has been the major cause of various health problems such as heart diseases, inflammations, cancer, arthritis etc.
• Concentration of Antioxidant like Lutein and Zeaxanthin is two to three times higher in organic milk than the conventional milk. Lutein is important for maintaining the eye health as it is a preventive approach for numerous eye diseases such as muscular degeneration and cataract.
• Organic milk is 50% higher in α-tocopherol and 75% higher in β-carotene compared to non-organic cow milk as shown by research work carried out in Danish Institute of Agricultural Science and University of Newcastle (Nielson and Lund-Nielson,2005).
• Organic milk has five times CLA contents than regular milk. CLA promotes metabolic rate, immunity to diseases and growth rate and at the same time bring down abdominal fat, cholesterol, and allergic reactions.

COSTING OF ORGANIC DAIRY PRODUCTS:

• In organic farming milk yields will be lower than the conventional one. As a result, the gross income of organic farm is tending to be lower.However, these may be overcome in days to come by selling large amount of milk and milk products in the growing market.
• The cost and supply issues are the main deterrents to buying organic food, whereas consumer concerns about health, flavour, quality, psychology, and the environment are the main drivers of consumption.
• Selling milk through an officially approved processing outlet is required in order to receive premium prices for organic milk.
• Production should always be planned with marketing in mind. Dairies and milking parlours may utilise approved sterilant.
• In India, the manufacturing of organic milk is still in its infancy. However, the earlier discovered variations in the composition of conventional and organic milk are sufficient to persuade more consumers to choose organic milk and even pay a little bit more.

CONCLUSION:

Organic milk production is guided by several national and international organizations. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and maximum use of on-farm management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animal, and people. In near future there are several challenges for organic dairy sectors like Processing challenges, Higher cost of raw materials, Limited supply, Utilization and balancing components (e.g butterfat or milksolids),Long term contracts for demand and supply and quality certification, Market challenges, Availability of regular market, High prices and international transactions.

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