Planet Lactose World News

I try to remind everyone here on a somewhat regular basis that lactose intolerance is a worldwide problem. Every known culture has a percentage of people who are lactose intolerant.

I found an article by Julia Ranniko on Monsters and Critics.com that discusses lactose intolerance in Germany.

"For some people, just a few drops of milk in their cafe au lait can overflow the barrel. But a lot of other people can handle minimal levels of lactose pretty well," says Isabelle Keller of the German Society for Nutrition.

The food industry has taken note of the problem and is regularly offering products with reduced lactose levels - milk, yoghurt, cream, cheese or pudding. But hidden lactose can be tricky, warns Keller, since lactose can be included in unexpected products, such as pre-prepared soups, rolls or sausage.

That's the same problem that people in the U.S. face. And according to the article, as many as 15% of Germans are LI, a high figure considered that most estimates only put the percentage in the U.S, at around 20%.

And now for the news from China. How many of you knew that China's two biggest dairy giants were based in Inner Mongolia? Put your hand down, you're not being serious. No, this is really true says an article by Ding Qingfen in China Daily.com.

China, with no history of consuming dairy in major amounts, still drinks only one-quarter as much milk per capita as the world average. The dairy giants are trying to increase that consumption. And one of the ways they're doing so is to emphasize the availability of low-lactose milk, a must in a nation where most people are lactose intolerant.

Yili launched a nationwide promotion for its high-end categories after the Spring Festival in late January and "it proved to be big success", [Zhang Jianqiu, executive president and spokesperson of Yili] said.

"Our top dairy products such as Satine and Low Lactose Milk generated the biggest profits in the first quarter," he noted.