“Lactose free” and “dairy free”. Sometimes you see these things written on food and drink packets. Be careful: They are NOT THE SAME thing!
“Lactose free” means a product doesn't contain lactose, which is a sugar contained in milk. People who are lactose intolerant, lack an enzyme required to break this sugar down. Take the lactose out of the milk and everything is fine.
However, there are some people, like my little boy, who are allergic to the protein in the cow's milk. If you are one of these people, it means you cannot have any milk products at all. You need to look for “Dairy free” as “Lactose free” can still have the milk, but without the lactose.
The casein trap:
Looking for “dairy free” is especially important when you are looking at products like soy cheese or cheese made from something other than cow's milk e.g. goat's cheese. You may look at the ingredient list and think it all looks ok. But then you might see something called “casein”. What's casein? It's a protein that's found in milk. So if you are allergic to cow's milk, stay clear of casein!!
Rennet
Another thing to watch out for is rennet. Rennet is another thing used to make cheese. It is often derived from the stomachs of cows, goats and sheep. The good news is that there are non-animal sources of rennet.
I am not sure if Australian cheesemakers have to disclose the source of their rennet. But if you want to be safe, buy from vegan sources (no animal products), or kosher places (milk and meat are not allowed to be mixed).
So, in summary: If you are allergic to cow's milk (not just lactose intolerant), look for “Dairy Free”, avoid casein and check your rennet source.
Well, that's all for now. I hope that this has been as interesting for you as it has been for me to research!
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