Students tackle milk safety

The safety of milk sold in developing nations, are topics of study for this year's recipients of the State Hygienic Laboratory's Student Mentorship award.
The Student Mentorship Program teams laboratory scientists with junior high and high school students who need lab assistance in completing a science project. Through previous mentorship projects, students measured levels of estrogen and other pharmaceuticals in ground water, tested for pesticides in plant roots, and assessed the amount of bacteria on toothbrushes.
This year's recipients worked with Hygienic Lab staff in Coralville, Ankeny and Lakeside Lab to complete projects that may benefit people in Iowa and around the world. The program also was supported by the Iowa local section of the American Chemical Society and the Friends of Lakeside Laboratory.
A safe system to remove dangerous adulterants
Ankita Chatterjee, an eighth-grader at Callanan Middle School, Des Moines, hopes to improve the safety of milk in developing nations where contamination from chlorine, iron and pesticides is a common problem.

Ankita Chatterjee with mentor Megan Mekoli, Ph.D.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India reported last year that more than two-thirds of milk in the country was adulterated by a variety of substances, including detergents.
Last year, Chatterjee designed a simple method to detect contaminants in milk. She applied to the Student Mentorship program for laboratory support to expand her method to include detection of melamine.
Melamine is an organic compound, used to create fire-resistant materials, that is sometimes used illegally to falsely elevate protein content in foods. In 2008, melamine-tainted infant milk sickened thousands of babies and spurred a World Health Organization investigation.
"I would like to experiment with various substances that could either filter or absorb the majority of these contaminants," Chatterjee said in her Student Mentorship application. "My ultimate goal is to create a low-cost, effective, and safe system to remove dangerous adulterants, including melamine, which could be utilized in developing countries."
Chatterjee's lead mentor is Megan Mekoli, Ph.D.