ABSTRACT
Milk is considered a highly nutritious food of animal origin from ancient times and its nutritional importance cannot be denied. Buffalo milk is considered one of the richest products from a compositional point of view and characterized by higher total solids, fat, proteins, caseins, ash, and lactose contents as compared to goat, camel, cow, and human milk. The annual milk production of Pakistan is 35.5 billion liters, making it among the leading ten milk producers of the world. Milk is converted to many products like yogurt, cheese, butter, lassi, desi ghee, and ice cream at household as well as at industrial level to increase its acceptability and consumption. In Pakistan, dairy is majorly considered as an unorganized sector where the share of formal sector for industrial processing is only 3%–4% of the total national milk production processed by a very few multinational and national industries. Shelf life of the dairy product depends upon the type of processing, packaging, and storage. Therefore, during processing, transportation, and storage of dairy products standard principles and guidelines must be followed.
