3 days ago
NDRI develops easy to digest goat milk cheese, trays using apricot kernels from Ladakh
ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Karnal has introduced easily digestible goat milk cottage cheese, joha rice-based kheer and prepared biodegradable trays using apricot kernel.
The newly developed products by the dairy institute were introduced before the students, public and the media during an event organised at the campus to mark World Milk Day on Sunday.
Officials said that the programme titled as 'Let's Celebrate the Power of Dairy', was chaired by ICAR-ATARI, Jodhpur director JP Mishra and also attended by ICAR-NDRI director and vice-chancellor Dheer Singh and joint director (academics) AK Singh, joint director (research) Rajan Sharma and others.
Sharing details about the products, the director said that non-bovine milk is a niche area in which NDRI has been working for the last several years.
'NDRI has developed various value-added products from goat and camel milk. Products like goat milk cottage cheese, which is easily digestible and possesses antioxidant and antibacterial properties, has been developed along with joha rice-based kheer,' he said.
Joha rice, Singh said, is an aromatic rice cultivated in Assam and is known for its low glycaemic index and rich in several antioxidants, flavonoids, and phenolics.
The milk products, NDRI scientists said, will be available at the milk parlour after the formalities are completed in the next two months.
The director further said that the institute scientists have also prepared biodegradable trays using apricot kernels, which is considered 100% waste.
'Apricot kernel based biodegradable packaging can be used for the packaging of dairy products such as sweets. The NDRI is also supporting prospective entrepreneurs by nurturing their ideas,' he added.
Scientists said that they have started exploring using these trays made of apricot kernel from the Ladakh region, to replace plastic-based trays used in pinni packs.
About the milk productivity and its economies, Singh said that Indian dairy sector involves about 450 million small and marginal farmers and the contribution of dairy and animal husbandry sector to India's GDP is 4.5% and the contribution of dairy sector to agriculture sector is 24%, which is valued around ₹10 Lakh crore and it is highest in the world.
He further emphasised that ICAR-NDRI supported the nation's white revolution by producing quality germ plasm, elite breeds, skilled manpower and valuable insights and timely inputs.
'Due to these collective efforts, India has been reigning as the largest milk producer of the World since 1998. Currently, the annual milk production in India is 239 million metric tonnes (MMT) and per capita milk availability is 471 gallons per day. The per capita availability of milk in India is higher than the world's average per capita availability i.e. 322 gallons per day,' he added.
