Launch of a ‘more tolerant’ milk

Wiseman’s and a New Zealand partner, A2 Corporation, have announced plans for the UK launch, next summer, of a range of products containing something branded as a2 Milk.

It is said to contain only A2 beta-casein, the ‘original’ cow-milk protein, rather than the A1 variation, which emerged in European cattle about 8,000 years ago and has become dominant in farmed milk and most milk mixes.

All dairy cows produce one or the other but 70 per cent nowadays produce A1, according to Wiseman’s. By selecting out the minority they can offer foods which might prove more easily digestible by people who do not get on with the mainstream products.

The difference is very small and will not make any difference to the medical condition known as lactose intolerance.

Wisemans says carefully: “In Australia, where a2 Milk has been available for a number of years, many people who have self-diagnosed intolerance of milk but are not medically diagnosed as being lactose intolerant, are finding that their symptoms are improved or completely alleviated by drinking a2 Milk. That’s because they are likely to be reacting to the beta-casein protein as opposed to the lactose.

“Studies have shown that as many as one in five people in Western countries believe they are intolerant to dairy and find it hard to digest milk, which stops them from benefiting from the wide range of essential nutrients that milk provides. But according to the NHS only one in 20 people in Britain is lactose intolerant.”

Wiseman’s will offer a premium on the farm-gate price for pure a2-type milk. Negotiations with farmers on terms are in progress. Would-be suppliers will be offered a genetic test based on one hair of a cow.

Azmina Govindji, a dietitian and writer on nutrition, commented: “It does not look as if anything is proven but there should not be any harm in trying this.”