Top Editors ... There`s more to milk than meets the eye

Title: There`s more to milk than meets the eye
Date: 05/07/2006
Autor: By Maureen Byrne

Milk is a staple food that is full of nourishment, but it’s not only an excellent source of protein and minerals in its whole state: there are components that can be separated out to provide beneficial effects when added to other foods, and DMV International is an established expert on the technology to get the most from milk

DMV International’s origins are firmly based in the dairy sector, and its parent company Campina is well known internationally for its nutritious range of dairy products that can be found in almost all supermarket chill cabinets around Europe.
The specialist ingredients side of the company, DMV International, continuously develops products that sit close to the food/pharma border. It began with infant formula, and has extended out to wider food applications that call for functional ingredients. Now the company has extended its knowledge of proteins even further, and is active in developing ingredients from wheat, rice and otherprotein sources.
In its quest to help consumers battle against growing health problems associated with high blood pressure, for example, DMV has developed C12 Peption. The World Health Organisation reports that up to 30% of adults suffer from high blood pressure and one in every four adults has prehypertension.
C12 Peption ACE and C12 Peption B are enzymatically hydrolysed milk proteins. The hydrolysate is enriched with up to 6% C12, which is a bioactive peptide located in the casein part of milk protein. This peptide inhibits Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE), which is a key enzyme in the regulation of blood pressure. All of this is backed up by clinical trials, and as a service to customers, DMV International asked an independent body to review all the claims for the C12 Peption range.
Applications for the range include chews, bars and beverages, as well as dietary supplements. “We tend to launch these bioactive ingredients into the supplement market first, and then progress to foods,” commented David Clark, director of R & D at DMV International. “Compared with pharma products, regulatory hurdles associated with these milk protein hydrolysates are understandably minor, as they are naturally occurring components found in many
cheeses and in casein hydrolysates used in infant formula.”
Another peptide offered by DMV International is Cysteine Peption. This is a whey protein hydrolysate, manufactured
using food grade enzymes. This product has been shown to support liver function by increasing the liver’s glutathione levels, which cleanses the blood. “Cysteine Peptide can transform consumers’ lives, giving them more energy, vitality and improving mental alertness and ability to sleep,” said Dr Clark.
“The intake of alcohol, nicotine and caffeine, and some medications, can stretch the liver’s capacity to eliminate these toxins, and this is where Cysteine Peption can help.”
Applications for this functional ingredient are similar to those of C12 Peption, and it tastes very good.
It is not just body functions, but also appearance, that can be helped with components from milk. Praventin, a patent
pending bioactive protein complex rich in bovine lactoferrin (amongst other ingredients) has been found to have dramatic effects on acne, reducing redness and blemishes. At present it is only available as a chewable tablet, but drinking yoghurt applications are now being developed. (During my visit, I tasted a product similar to drinking yoghurt containing lactoferrin, and it was very pleasant – MB.)
It is not only as a functional ingredient that lactoferrin can be useful: a patented form of lactoferrin has now been approved by the US Department of Agriculture as a food safety technology that is effective at low addition levels that do not require labelling.
Activated lactoferrin can be used as a carcass rinse, which protects beef against E.Coli 0157:H7 and more than 30 different types of pathogenic bacteria. It prevents pathogenic bacteria from attaching to meat surfaces and can be used to inhibit the growth of bacteria.
DMV International has a continuous programme of developing more and more beneficial products, both for food safety and health, including a ‘clear milk’ (reported in FBI June 2005).