Dairying is an integral part of the diverse system of agriculture that prevails in India and therefore, plays a vital role in agricultural economy and food Production of the country. It provides essential food value in the form of milk and milk products to the millions of the country's inhabitants. Dairying is the major source of Income for the rural masses, as about 70% of the population comprises of small, marginal and br> Landless farmers who benefit directly from dairying activities. India has about 15% of the global cattle population, 56% of the world's buffalo population and accounts for 15-16% of the word's annual milk production. The growth in milk production is about 4%. India stands tall among the milk producing countries with an annual production of about 120 million metric tons, though the organized sector handles only about 30% of the total milk produced. The authors with their strengths of academics and research in the discipline of dairy technology have been involved in developing manpower for the dairy industry and imparting training at an Institute of National repute. This book is the result of their strong feeling of the need to compile information and integrate traditional and novel technologies that exist worldwide in the processing of liquid milk. The book has been organized in various chapters that include the history of dairy development in India, procurement and consumption pattern of milk, processing, quality assurance and packaging of fluid milk products and food safety laws. The authors hope that this work will serve the students of dairy technology in the country and also provide a ready reference to the teachers involved in shaping the human Resource needs of the Indian dairy industry.

Milk has played a major contribution to the human diet in many different countries across the world since the dawn of time. The dairy cow was domesticated over 6000 years ago, she was the object of worship in the Middle East 2000 years before Christ, and milk and milk products are mentioned more than 50 times in the Bible. Milk and dairy products have become a major part of the human diet in many countries. It is not surprising therefore, that over many years considerable attention has been paid to improving the quality of milk. We have worked to improve the yield, the compositional quality and the hygienic quality, and have striven to minimise the level of contaminants which can find access to this, perhaps our most natural, unrefined and highly nutritious foodstuff. The chain of people involved in the milk industry extends from milk production-farmers, veterinarians and farm advisors-through transport to processing-quality controllers, manufacturers-and on to retailers, legislators, nutritionists, dairy educators and consumers. All will be interested in the quality parameters of milk which are reg ularly measured for commercial reasons, for trade, for legal requirements and for reasons of nutrition.