Melamine adulteration of milk is a worldwide problem that goes undetected by commonly used Kjeldahl method, adapted by the dairy industries. The exposure to melamine adulteration exceeding the daily tolerable limit has detrimental effects on human health, since excessive melamine causes kidney stones leading to renal failure. Thus, regular monitoring of the milk supplies from dairy industry is necessary. BARC has developed a simple one-step nano-formulation for the detection of milk adulterant melamine in raw milk samples by colorimetry. The method is effortless, rapid and cost-effective.

1. A rapid colorimetric kit for sensing of melamine adulteration in milk.
2. One-step synthesis procedure for nano-formulation.
3. Nano-formulation remains stable for 6 months at 4-8°C.
4. No sophisticated instrumentation is required for production or handling.
5. No pre-treatment/ chemical pre-processing of milk is required.
6. The methodology involving the colorimetric detection of melamine content in raw milk samples is rapid, simple and cost effective.

1. Quality check of milk by general public, dairy industry and food chains.

Milk adulteration is a common problem that is encountered worldwide. Usually, in order to increase the volume of raw milk, water is added to it. Addition of water to milk lowers the protein concentration in milk. Dairy industries that produce and supply powdered milk and infant formula worldwide usually check the protein concentration through Kjeldahl method. This method measures the nitrogen content in milk. In order to pass through the quality control method adapted by the dairy industries, raw milk is often adulterated with melamine. The addition of melamine increases the nitrogen content and hence the apparent protein content in raw milk.

BARC has developed a simple one-step nano-formulation for the detection of milk adulterant melamine in raw milk samples by colorimetry. The method is effortless, rapid and cost effective. The nano-formulation is stable for months and can be used for any kind of milk samples. The adulterated milk when added to the nano-formulation, immediately shows a visible colour change based on the extent of adulteration. This technology is user friendly, simple to adopt and involves no sophisticated instrumentation. In this methodology, no chemical pre-treatment of milk is required. This cost-effective "Visual detection kit for melamine content in adulterated milk" can rapidly detect the adulteration levels of ~ 500 ppb in raw unprocessed milk.

1. A rapid colorimetric kit for sensing of melamine adulteration in milk.
2. One-step synthesis procedure for the nano-formulation.
3. The nano-formulation remains stable for 6 months at 4-8°C.
4. No sophisticated instrumentation is required for production or handling.
5. No pre-treatment/ chemical pre-processing of milk is required.
6. The methodology for melamine detection is rapid, simple and cost effective.

1. Quality check of milk by general public, dairy industry and food chains.

a. Raw Materials

1. Nano formulation
2. Micro centrifuge tubes, 1.5 ml

All the raw materials required are available in the local market.

b. Equipments

1. Hot Plate with magnetic stirrer
2. Micropipette (100-1000 μ)
3. Weighing balance
4. Reftrigerator

c. Space

1. Dust-free room with temperature ~ 25 °C
2. A working table (150 cm x 70 cm x 90 cm) with glass top and shelves
3. Stainless steel sink with running water supply

d. Power

1. Three phase power connection.

e. Manpower

1. 1 skilled worker is adequate. Actual manpower would depend on the production capacity number of the detection kits.