There are many manufacturers of lactose-free milk and dairy products. [73] For this purpose, the enzyme lactase is added to milk, which splits lactose into its parent sugars, glucose and galactose, thus practically anticipating digestion. This lactose-free milk tastes sweeter than milk because glucose and galactose taste sweeter than the sugar in the original milk. In many cases, milk substitutes made from plants are also used instead of cow`s milk. As an alternative for people with milk allergies and lactose intolerant people, there are also animal alternatives, such as camel milk. Since 2002, a Finnish research group has been investigating this suspicion as part of the TRIGR study („Trial to Reduce IDDM in the Genetically at Risk“). For this comparative study, the researchers recruited babies who had a first-degree relative (parents or siblings) with type 1 diabetes and some genetic risk. The infants were randomly divided into two groups, which differed in terms of follow-up formula after weaning. One group was fed a highly hydrolyzed baby food that no longer contained intact cow`s milk protein (casein). The other group received a conventional milk formula made from cow`s milk.

The analysis included data from 2,159 children observed up to the age of ten. With regard to disease risk, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The study published in 2018 could therefore not support the suspicion that cow`s milk protein in baby food increases the risk of type 1 diabetes. The authors see no need to revise dietary recommendations for children at increased risk of type 1 diabetes. [53] The Milk and Fats Act states that milk may initially only be delivered to certain designated dairies and the manner in which milk is to be processed. It regulates in particular delivery and purchase obligations, the fat content of milk, the sale of country butter, price rules and fines. In trade within the European Union, only cow`s milk can be referred to as „milk“. In the case of milk from other mammals, the animal species must also be indicated (e.g. goat`s milk, sheep`s milk, mare`s or mare`s milk, donkey`s milk, yak`s milk, camel`s milk, buffalo`s milk). [5] As a result, soy beverages are not listed as „soy milk“ commercially.

Milk is a white, cloudy emulsion or colloidal dispersion of protein, lactose and milk fat in water. [1] Humans use the milk of many pets as food, especially as a drink. [2] It forms in the mammary glands of mammals, which use it to feed their newborns. More recently, there have been attempts to produce milk not by milking, but without the use of animals at the molecular level (cultured milk). In Europe, around 228 million tonnes of cow`s milk were produced in 2020. The main producers were Germany, France and the United Kingdom. On-farm milk is raw milk that consumers receive directly from the dairy farm. According to the Milk and Fats Act, „milk“ means milking of one or more cows obtained by regular and complete milking of the udder and thoroughly mixed from one or more milking seasons. Nothing can be extracted or added to milk.

Therefore, condensed milk, powdered milk and buttermilk are not milk within the meaning of the law, but dairy products. However, this includes, for example, butter, the production of which is also regulated by the Milk and Fats Act. Another instrument for protecting the dairy sector against market disturbances is private storage aid. In the milk and milk products sector, this support is available for butter, skimmed milk powder and cheeses with a protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI). Raw milk is largely unprocessed, simply filtered milk and, depending on hygienic conditions, can already be contaminated with udder pathogens. When consumed, they can be transmitted to humans and cause infectious diseases such as salmonellosis, Campylobacter enteritis, staphylococcal infections, listeriosis, brucellosis, intestinal tuberculosis, cerebral diarrhea or enterohaemorrhagic colitis. For the production and sale of raw milk and raw milk products, special hygiene rules apply in the European Union, which aim to minimize the risk of infection. Publication of the volume of raw milk production Processing plants are called dairies (formerly partly also dairies) or cheese factories, typical products are cream, butter and buttermilk, cheese, sour milk. The effects of preservation methods on the vitamin content of milk vary: Studies have found reduced levels of vitamin B1, B12, E and folic acid after pasteurization. The vitamin B6 content remained unchanged; vitamin A content increased after pasteurization. [38] When vitamin losses occur, they are less than 10% after pasteurization. The loss of vitamins due to ESL milk production is on average 10%.

The ultra-high temperature leads to a loss of about 20% of vitamin B12; losses of vitamin B1, C and folic acid amount to 10%. [39] Vitamins B1 and B6 may be related to loss due to storage. The extent depends on the storage temperature and the heating technique used (directly by steam injection or indirectly), in the case of directly heated UHT milk or ESL milk, in addition to the depth with which the milk was subsequently degassed. [40] Sterilization means the highest loss of vitamins, 20 to 100%, depending on the vitamin and storage period. The loss of vitamins due to the simple decoction of raw milk is 10-30%. [41] The most important carbohydrate in milk is lactose[26] (4.6% in cow`s milk), but it also contains galactose, glucose, and traces of other carbohydrates. The pH of milk ranges from 6.7 for fresh milk to about 4.5 for sour milk. In the case of raw milk or milk that has undergone only one heat treatment step, the milk fat accumulates on the surface after a certain time and forms a layer of cream.

Homogenization prevents this by reducing the size of fat droplets to less than 1 μm in diameter and therefore creaming only takes place over a very long period of time for physical reasons. Raw milk is an unaltered milk that has not been heated above 40°C and has not undergone any treatment with an equivalent effect (such as microfiltration). If raw milk is supplied to consumers in prepackages, it is called „raw milk“.