Mineral content of dairy products. I. Milk and milk products.

Sixteen kinds of dairy products were analyzed for five major minerals and four trace minerals. Commercial samples of fluid milk, cream, concentrated milks, cultured products, butter, and frozen desserts were also analyzed for fat, solids, protein, and minerals. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium were determined by atomic absorption, and phosphorus was determined colorimetrically. Flameless atomic absorption was used to determine iron, zinc, copper, and manganese. The data generally agreed with most recently published values. However, for the trace minerals, the data differed widely in some instances. Manufacturing practices and added ingredients produced considerable variations in mineral content of market samples. These variations, however, could be limited by selection of products, so that they would not preclude the use of dairy products in diets in which mineral composition must be controlled. The coefficients of variation, which indicate the variability that can be expected for each product, generally were high for sherbet and ice milk and low for low-fat milk and skim milk.