Abstract #142

# 142
A2 milk and the potential impact on consumer markets.
A. Rauton*1, J. Bohlen1, 1University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

In the last decade, consumer markets have been moving further and further away from traditional dairy milk as the number of available milk substitutes have increased drastically. What began as a niche market for lactose intolerant consumers as well as vegan consumers has snowballed into a market in close competition with typical dairy products. However, in recent years, researchers, geneticists, and farmers have started taking steps toward a niche product of their own to bring consumers back to the dairy market. Traditional dairy is known for providing a significant amount of biologically relevant nutrients including fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. One protein found in milk known as casein can occur in several genetically determined forms. The most common forms of this protein are known as A1 and A2 β-casein with most dairy cows producing a combination of both. The difference between the 2 is relatively small but can cause a dramatic difference in the way the protein is digested. Digestion of A1 β-casein protein yields an amino-acid peptide called β-casomorphin-7 (BCM-7), which has been linked to health issues including but not limited to lactose intolerance-like symptoms, heart disease, and type 1 diabetes. Unlike the former, digestion of A2 β-casein produces much less BCM-7 and thus less associated adverse health effects. The segment of the population that this product targets is those with perceived lactose intolerance, which is actually a negative reaction to the A1 protein. Though it does not answer all questions with regards to declines in fluid milk consumption, the discovery that simple genetic selection for cows homozygous A2A2 could yield a more digestible dairy product may provide a resurgence in dairy product consumption. Overall, an increase in the prevalence of A2 milk has the potential to combat newly found competition for dairy products while potentially also increasing overall consumer preference for traditional dairy.

Key Words: A2 β-casein, consumer market, perceived lactose intolerance