1. Introduction
Globally consumers pay immense attention to their food and its composition due to pivotal linkages between diet and human health. Growing awareness and scientific evidence of the functional properties of milk have changed public trends and increased the demand of nutritionally balanced milk products (Granato et al., 2010). Milk is one of the oldest foods known to man and is a complex mixture of fat, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and other miscellaneous constituents dispersed in water (Ozrenk and Inci, 2008).
Pakistan is the 3rd largest milk producing country in the world with an estimated 44.97 billion litters of annual milk production from 50 million animals managed by approximately 40 million farming households. The Punjab province accounts for 49% of total output. There are over 29 million buffaloes and 31.8 million cattle in Pakistan. Buffaloes are the major milk producing animal, accounting for about 62% of all milk produced. Many farmers rear not only large ruminants, but also sheep and goats of which there are over 27 and 56.7 million, respectively in Pakistan (GOP, 2010).