Milk allergen testing
Why do I need to do milk allergen testing?
Food allergies pose a widespread public health challenge, impacting millions of consumers globally. In recent years, the management of allergens has gained significant attention, due to increasingly stringent allergen labelling regulations, GFSI food safety standard requirements, and the growing prevalence of undeclared allergens behind product recalls.
What is the difference between cow’s milk allergies and lactose intolerance?
Cow’s milk allergies are often confused with lactose intolerance. However, they are two distinct conditions; both related to the consumption of milk, but involving different aspects of the digestive system.
Cow’s milk allergy is an immune system response to proteins found in cow’s milk, such as casein and whey. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and can occur shortly after consuming products containing milk proteins.
Lactose intolerance is a result of the body’s inability to fully digest lactose, the sugar present in milk, due to a lack of the enzyme lactase. Unlike cow’s milk allergy, lactose intolerance reactions are not immune responses and are generally less severe. Symptoms typically appear later, often a few hours after consuming dairy products.
Understanding the differences between cow’s milk allergies and lactose intolerance is essential to ensure correct claims are made on product labels.
What do the regulations require?
Due to the prevalence, potency and severity of cow’s milk allergies, cow’s milk is recognised as a regulated allergen in numerous regions, including South Africa, where it is one of the eight regulated common allergens.
View our allergen labelling infographic for more information.
Lactose-free is a nutrient content claim and requires nutritional analyses as support. Cow’s milk-free is allowed when the absence of cow’s milk can be confirmed using suitable testing. It is not recommended to make a dairy-free claim unless it is allowed for the specific category of foods.
Does FACTS offer cow’s milk (dairy) and lactose allergen testing?
FACTS offers SANAS-accredited cow’s milk allergen testing (including whey and casein), and we can facilitate lactose analyses. View and download our testing catalogue, or contact us for more information about the methods used.
All methods can be performed on surface swabs and air plates. It is important to note that all swab results are qualitative, and that the lab is accredited for select swab analyses. For more information on the FACTS laboratory accreditation status, view our SANAS accreditation certificate or contact us for more information.
Other articles and resources you may be interested in:
Milk allergy vs Lactose intolerance
Imitation dairy: Got milk?
Allergen labelling: Significant impact on product sales and market
South Africa’s regulated common allergens
To claim or not to claim – The ‘allergen-free’ controversy
Do you have to test for all food label claims?
Testing Catalogue
Infographic: Allergen Labelling