May 12, 2021. The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) conducted the initial stakeholders consultation for the development of Philippine National Standard (PNS) for Milk – Water Buffalo - Specifications last May 12, 2021 via Cisco Webex platform. The activity aims to gather technical and commercial information that can be used as reference for the improvement of the PNS. The activity also aims to further validate the provisions stipulated in the draft from the series of Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings. 19 participants from relevant government agencies, academe and research institutions, and private sectors joined the consultation.
Buffalo milk is considered one of the finest among dairy-producing animals (Del Rosario, 2010). 100 grams buffalo milk contains 6.5g of fat, 4.3g of protein, 5g of carbohydrates, 117kcal of energy, 210mg of calcium, 130mg of phosphorus, 0.2mg of iron, 0.04mg of thiamine, 0.10mg of riboflavin, 1mg of vitamin C, and 0.14mg of vitamin B12. The government is eyeing buffalo milk as one of the solutions to address malnutrition in the Philippines (Del Rosario, 2010). The Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) is currently conducting research for the development of buffalo/carabao’s breed in the country to help the farmers increase their milk production.
Due to the rising buffalo farmers and demand for its milk, PCC proposed to develop a PNS for buffalo/carabao’s milk to improve its safety and keep its quality high. This PNS will serve as a guide for the farmers in setting the price of buffalo/carabao milk in the market, and help prevent adulteration of raw buffalo/carabao’s milk. ###
Figure 1. Group picture of the participants on the initial stakeholder consultation
for the development of PNS for Milk – Water Buffalo – Specifications.
Reference:
Del Rosario, W.T. (2010). Buffalo milk: the “udder cola”. https://www.pcc.gov.ph/buffalo-milk-the-udder-cola-3/