Muhammad Usman2025-08-202025-08-202024https://escholar.umt.edu.pk/handle/123456789/4831Milk is one of the most consumed food products globally, providing essential nutrients that are crucial for health. Milk consumption has significantly increased over the past 10 years, which has enormously increased the demand for it. Consequently, numerous fraudulent practices and malpractices have emerged, jeopardizing the safety, quality, and authenticity of milk. The current study aims to compare the nutritional value, quality, authenticity, and safety of loose and packed milk available in the local markets of Lahore. This study aimed to compare the nutritional status, quality, and microbial assessment of locally available loose and packed milk in Lahore. For microbial assessment, Total Plate count (TPC) and Eosin Methylene Blue agar (EMB) were performed to check microbial contamination of loose and packed milk; subsequently, adulteration tests of ammonium sulfate, urea, starch, boric acid, detergent, and formalin were performed to detect adulteration in loose and packed milk. Additionally, nutritional assessment (carbohydrate content, crude fat, and crude protein) was performed to evaluate the overall nutritional value of loose and packed milk. The TPC of loose milk was 2.3×107 , whereas there was no microbiological contamination in packed milk. However, the EMB of loose milk was 6.4×106 , and packed milk had no E. coli contamination. TThesis