Know Your Milk
General information to help you make informed choices. It is not medical advice.
Buffalo milk is mostly water, with fat, protein, lactose (milk sugar), and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, plus vitamins. Compared with cow milk, buffalo milk is generally richer — it usually has more fat, more protein and more calcium per glass, which is why it tastes creamier and makes thicker curd.
Exact values change with the animal, its feed, the season and the stage of lactation, so no farm’s milk is identical every day.
Fat is the cream portion of milk. SNF means “solids-not-fat” — everything solid in milk other than fat: mainly protein, lactose and minerals. Dairies measure both, as percentages, to judge milk composition and price it.
FSSAI sets minimum fat and SNF levels for buffalo milk sold in India. Added water lowers both, which is why they are a basic check for dilution.
Adulteration is adding something to milk, or removing something from it, so it looks like more or better milk than it is. Commonly reported adulterants include added water, starch, detergent, urea, sugar, “synthetic milk”, neutralisers, and preservatives such as formalin or hydrogen peroxide.
FSSAI’s DART guide describes simple household tests for some common adulterants. They are useful for spotting obvious problems, but they are screening checks only — a home test cannot prove that milk is completely free of all chemicals. Reliable results come from an accredited food-testing laboratory.
The best everyday signal is a source you can see: a farm you can visit, people you can call, and published test reports when available.
“Fresh” describes how recently milk was collected. “Safe” means it is free of harmful germs. Even clean, freshly collected milk can carry bacteria from the animal or the environment — such as those causing brucellosis, tuberculosis, salmonella or E. coli infections. Heat treatment is what makes milk safe to drink.
Pasteurisation heats milk to a set temperature for a set time in a dairy plant. Fresh milk delivered directly from a farm is usually not pasteurised, so please bring RK Farms milk to a full, rolling boil before drinking or using it, and do not drink it raw. Raw milk is not safer or healthier than boiled milk.
Boil milk soon after it arrives. Let it cool covered, then keep it in the refrigerator in a clean, covered vessel. Avoid leaving milk at room temperature for long, especially in summer, and use it within a day or two. If it smells sour or curdles on heating, do not drink it.
Babies under 12 months should not be given animal milk as their main drink; breast milk or an appropriate infant formula is recommended. For toddlers and older children, milk can be part of a balanced diet. Buffalo milk is rich in fat, so ask your paediatrician how much is right for your child, and always serve it boiled.
A milk allergy is an immune reaction to milk proteins; lactose intolerance is difficulty digesting milk sugar. They are different conditions. Buffalo milk contains both milk proteins and lactose, so it is not a substitute for people with either condition. Please follow your doctor’s advice.
Transparency
We have not published a laboratory report yet. When our milk is tested by a laboratory, we will publish the complete report here — the results as they are.
