Milk and other dairy products make up one of the five basic food groups that create the Food Pyramid, a popular graphic that suggests the optimal nutrition guidelines per day. The Pyramid advises that two to three servings of dairy produce be consumed each day – primarily to ensure sufficient calcium intake. Calcium is vital to ensure the growth and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth, and is also important for muscle and nerve control, blood clotting and blood pressure control. Although calcium is present in other food groups, for example, from vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, the calcium in dairy products is more readily absorbed from the digestive tract than calcium from some other sources.
Almost all infants are born with the enzyme lactase, which provides them with the ability to digest lactose, the predominant carbohydrate in milk. However, mammals, including humans, experience a reduction in the production of lactase at the end of the weaning period. This means that the ability to digest lactose is reduced in early childhood for many people around the world. Lactase persistence, which enables the digestion of lactose to continue into adulthood, is genetically determined. This trait appears to have evolved to adapt to dairy consuming populations with a historically pastoral lifestyle, exemplified by northern Europe where only a small percentage of the population is lactose intolerant. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the world population suffers to a degree from lactose intolerance. Increased awareness of the benefits of calcium, primarily due to widespread publicity about osteoporosis, has caused the consumption of milk and other dairy products to grow throughout the world. Strong dairy promotion campaigns currently taking place in China exemplify this trend. This means that society at large is calling for a solution that breaks down lactose and enables everyone to enjoy and benefit from these products.
One method to remove lactose from milk is filtration technology – but this can be a costly procedure as it involves a significant investment in equipment, which in turn limits the flexibility of the plant to adapt to ever changing customer demands. Another effective and more cost efficient alternative is to treat milk and milk-based products with a lactase enzyme. Lactases work through breaking down lactose to a mixture consisting primarily of glucose and galactose, which can be safely digested by virtually everyone. In addition to eliminating lactose, the resulting milk product has a naturally sweeter taste. In fact, lactase has been used traditionally in the manufacturing of ice-cream. As glucose and galactose are sweeter than lactose, it enhances the taste, while also helping to ensure a smoother texture. This is because lactose usually crystallizes at low temperatures, causing sandiness in ice-cream, but its constituent products, glucose and galactose, remain dissolved.
Novozymes Lactozym Pure® is an exceptionally pure lactase that offers a host of unique benefits. It comes in a variety of different product strengths, instantly offering process flexibility. It is robust and capable of working at the pH ranges found in most milk and milk-based products such as regular fresh milk, UHT milk, ice cream, lassies and dulce de leche. What truly makes this product stand out, is its purity. Not only does its high purity improve filterability, but most importantly, it reduces the likelihood of the milk product developing off-flavors. This is of particular use in the production of UHT milk, an ever growing industry. UHT milk is popular throughout Europe, particularly in countries with centralized dairy operations consisting of a few large units. In these situations, the milk often needs to be transported over long distances, and UHT is favored over pasteurized milk as it saves on the high costs, and eliminates the difficulties, associated with refrigerated transportation. Before opening, UHT milk has a typical shelf life of six to nine months. Lactozym Pure ensures that no off-flavors develop, which helps to maintain the pure and authentic flavor of UHT milk products during prolonged storage.
With the desire to consume milk and milk-based products growing throughout the world, it makes sense to implement an effective and natural solution that breaks down lactose and enables everyone to consume and benefit from these products. Lactozym Pure is an effective and natural way to do exactly this – and its purity supports the development of superior, lactose-free milk products.