Is Donkey Milk Permissible for Human Consumption?

Donkey milk has been around for thousands of years, but it has made a major comeback recently for its exceptional nutritional qualities and health benefits. According to experts, donkey milk tastes equivalent to mother milk with no smell. It is low in fat, has medicinal and ayurvedic advantages, and improves immunity in children. The milk is good for cardiovascular and heart patients. Donkey milk is believed to rejuvenate skin and eliminate wrinkles from the face. 

With numerous advantages, it has some downsides too, viz., donkey milk has a high lactose content of about 5%, hence, it may not be ideal for adults with lactose intolerance or gastric problems. There have been reports of allergies and health issues. Lack of certifications is also driving people out of this business.

In a candid conversation with me, the owner Dimple Jallipalli now a techie, earlier owner of Swastha, a dairy in Bengaluru, in an interview said, “We had around 40 donkeys including 20 adult donkeys and the rest were foals. After successfully delivering donkey milk for almost a year, owing to a lack of government certification we have closed the venture now.” She said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) hasn’t certified donkey milk for human consumption as there is no evident research conducted so far. And, hence, from the seller’s perspective, the market isn’t so hopeful, people aren’t aware, and without government certification, there is a big question mark regarding donkey milk for human consumption, Dimple added.

Above all, donkey milk is trading at a very high price like half a litre of milk in retail priced at Rs. 1000, i.e., 40 times the cost of a 500 ml pouch of cow milk. People are apprehensive about buying milk due to its high pricing. Still, many suppliers deliver this rare donkey milk and milk powder at different prices, from 3k to 7k per ltr. In this vein, Vidya Ramachandra, Director of ‘Taakshvi Agri Products’ initiated the unique idea of selling donkey milk, milk powder, and other milk products three months ago in the local market. At Rs. 4k the dairy trades 1 litre of donkey milk and Rs. 30k for half a kilo milk powder.  Obtained eight donkeys with two baby donkeys from her father-in-law’s friend, Vidya today has 16 donkeys at their farm in Kolar and provides donkey milk in South Bengaluru and Bellary in Karnataka. In a candid interview with me discussing the process, Vidya said, “We sell 250ml, 500ml, 1 and 2 ltr.—bottles of donkey milk. After milking, the milk bottles are frozen under -2 to -5 degrees Celsius. The bottles are delivered in thermocol boxes filled with ice. She said that milk powder is obtained by a process called freeze-drying. The milk powder gets packed in plastic packets of four sizes up to 5 kg.  with a shelf life of 1 to 1.5 years, milk can be refrigerated for three months.”

Talking about the minuses of this profession, Vidya disappointedly said, “Donkey maintenance, shed costs, the medical expenses are very high. Per cost donkeys range from 60k to 1 and 1.5 lakhs depending on the breed. In a month average of 8 litres or in bulk the milk sales remain at merely 10 litres. In a day a donkey gives 600ml to 1 ltr. whereas cows give 12-15 litres of milk daily. 18-20 litres of donkey milk make a kilo of milk powder, which costs Rs. 18k. The government support or subsidies are also not there,” she added.

In such a scenario, without endorsement from FSSAI and with high pricing but a lot of advantages, will donkey milk make a viable place in contrast to cow, buffalo, goat, or any other alternative animal milk in the market? Time will tell.