In the Republic of Moldova, they consume more milk than it is produced. That’s why the dairy producers use vegetable fats in production. If they import animal fats, the finished milk products will be more expensive. Nutritionist Sergiu Munteanu stated for the website sănătate.info that large quantities of hydrogenated vegetable fats are imported. These are used to give the impression that the products contain the indicated quantities of fats.
For example, butter can have 82% of fats, but only half of the indicated amount of fats is milk fat, while the rest is hydrogenated fat. According to Sergiu Munteanu, if producers start to import animal fats, the price of butter will double. “We simply do not have so much animal fat on the market for the producers to ensure a high-quality product,” said the nutritionist.
Sergiu Munteanu noted it is better to purchase integral milk that is available in stores. The analysis of the technological processes showed that all the fats are extracted from the milk and only the necessary amount of fat is added to it – 2.5% or more.
According to the nutritionist, to improve the quality of the milk produced in Moldova, the state should decide its role in this field of agriculture, while the milk collecting and processing companies should adjust production processes to the EU standards. The investments in developing the field are very important.
A recent study showed that the milk fats in a large number of dairy products sold in Moldova are substituted with fats of other origins. There were analyzed 126 samples of domestic and imported dairy products. One fourth of the specimens that included such products as butter, sour cream, cheese and pressed cheese failed the test. Under the current norms, the non-milk fats must not exceed 5% of all the fats contained in a milk product.
