A recent European Food Safety Authority review has given A1 milk the all clear.
A1 and A2 are the most common proteins in milk. Milk sourced from different cows has varying proportions of A1 and A2 milk - milk produced in New Zealand is normally a mix.
The A1 versus A2 milk debate has been rumbling along since the late 1990s. Back then, it was hypothesised that the A1 protein was a risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and possibly schizophrenia and autism.
In 2004 the New Zealand Food Safety Authority commissioned a report to look into these claims. It found little evidence of a relationship between A1 milk and a higher risk of health problems.
But there have been new allegations - and so the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) decided to review the scientific evidence relating to A1 and A2 milk.
EFSA's review was released last month. It concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship couldn't be established between A1 milk proteins and non-communicable diseases.
More information
- European Food Safety Authority - www.efsa.europa.eu
- New Zealand Food Safety Authority - www.nzfsa.govt.nz
More from consumer.org.nz
- Milk - we look at some of the different types of milk available.
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I have carefully read Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodward, Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University. He brings together the evidence published in about 100 scientific papers. He examines the population studies that look at the link between the consumption of A1 milk and the incidence of heart disease and Type 1 diabetes; he examines the science, he examines the research. The evidence is compelling; we should be switching to A2 milk. I have switched. Read the book and you might too.
BTW, Most of the world's cows produce A2 milk. A1 milk is a mutation of A2 milk. A2 is normal milk and is safe to humans, A1 milk is not. IMHO.