Lately, I’ve been hearing many consumers talk about being lactose intolerant. This new research could lead to an exciting array of milk options for those who can’t consume regular milk.

Fermentation of dairy with a mix of lactic acid bacteria and a Streptococcus strain could selectively reduce the protein responsible for cows milk allergy, researchers have reported. Researchers at Germany’s University of Hohenheim have reported that fermentation of skim milk and sweet whey with a one-to-one mixture of the bacteria could reduce the quantity of beta-lactoglobulin, the main allergen in cows milk, by as much as 90 per cent. Writing in the journal Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, the researchers state that by reducing the beta-lactoglobulin content of the dairy product, the allergic response to the dairy may be reduced by as much as 90 per cent.

“In more than 80 per cent of all cases, the whey protein beta-lactoglobulin (beta-lg) is the main elicitor of milk allergies for children and infants. Beta-lg is the major whey protein in milk and milk products and it is of particular interest because it is the sole whey protein fraction present in cow’s milk which is not in human milk,” explained lead author Nicole Kleber.