MSc Biotechnology students visited Gaya Dairy on Excursion Tour
The MSc Biotechnology Third Semester students of Department of Biotechnology, Central University of South Bihar (CUSB), Gaya visited the Magadh Milk Union (Gaya Dairy), Katari Hill Road, Katari Hill, Gaya as part of their Masters course ‘Field and Excursion Tour’ on November 09, 2023. It is a part of their MSc Biotechnology course curriculum, in which the students visit the industries of different scales, various start-ups, processing units etc. Two faculty members of Department of Biotechnology Prof. Rakesh Kumar and Dr. Jawaid Ahsan were leading the group of students during this visit.
The students and faculty members were warmly welcomed by Mr. K P S Yadav, Managing Director of Magadh Milk Union and his energetic and enthusiastic team. After formal introduction, the students were taken into various sections of Gaya Dairy and were explained about each and every step from collection of raw milk from the farmers in villages with the help of cooperative societies to packaging into milk pouches of various sizes.
The milk is always kept in chilling conditions during transportations to stop spoilage. In Gaya Dairy, the milk collected from the farmers goes through a series of various biochemical, microbiological and quality control testings and filtrations to ensure that the good quality and safe milk reaches to the consumers. The milk is tested for fat concentration, acidity, urea and other kinds of adulterations, density (lactometer test), COB test (clot on boiling test) etc ensuring the quality of milk collected from farmers and at subsequent steps. Afterward, the milk is pasteurized carefully and is either packed in milk pouches of different sizes or used for making other milk products like curd, paneer, ghee, chhena, gulab jamun, peda, rabri, other sweets etc. There is quality check and highly sensitive sensory testing including Organoleptic testing at different stages including at the time of packaging. The scientists and workers are well trained and do their job efficiently under the leadership of their Managing Director Mr. K P S Yadav.
This academic visit was very useful for the students, it provided a good opportunity to learn and feel how an industry functions. This exposure will help the students understand the practical applications of what they are studying in their courses. They also learnt about the scopes of training and employment, these will help in their future career and placements. The students also got the opportunity to taste various popular products of Gaya Dairy, thanks to Mr. Yadav and his team. Overall this Field and Excursion Tour of Magadh Milk Union (Gaya Dairy) was a great learning experience for the students. Each student wrote a report on their visit, about what they learnt there. The Head of the Department of Biotechnology Prof. Durg Vijai Singh, Prof. Rizwanul Haque, Prof. Rakesh Kumar, Dr. Jawaid Ahsan, Dr. Nitish Kumar and Dr. Krishna Prakash appreciated the efforts of students and thanked Mr. K P S Yadav and his team for their cooperation and making this visit so fruitful in every sense.
