Milk Powders for Food and health

Milk powders contain all twenty standard amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and are high in soluble vitamins and minerals. According to USAID the typical average amounts of major nutrients in the unreconstituted milk are (by weight) 36% protein, 52% carbohydrates (predominantly lactose), calcium 1.3%, potassium 1.8%. Their milk powder is fortified with Vitamin A and D, 3000IU and 600IU respectively per 100g. Inappropriate storage conditions (high relative humidity and high ambient temperature) can significantly degrade the nutritive value of milk powder.

Commercial milk powders are reported to contain oxysterols (oxidized cholesterol) in higher amounts than in fresh milk (up to 30μg/g, versus trace amounts in fresh milk). The oxysterol free radicals have been suspected of being initiators of atherosclerotic plaques. For comparison, powdered eggs contain even more oxysterols, up to 200μg/g.
Fonterra, a New Zealand based multinational company, is the world's largest producer of milk powder controlling 40 percent of the global whole milkpowder. The dominance of New Zealand in the global dairy industry, for example Fonterra controls around 30% of the world's dairy exports, has prompted the formation of a futures market for trading whole milkpowder.

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