THE MYSTERIOUS WHAT AND WHY OF MODIFIED MILK INGREDIENTS PART I: MODIFIED WHAT? MODIFIED HOW?

Modified Milk Ingredients is an ever more common listed ingredient in products containing dairy; and more recently in products that traditionally never contain dairy at all. But what are modified milk ingredients; and why are modified milk ingredients? The purpose of this two-part post is to answer these very questions. With this first post, we look at what modified milk ingredients are, and what products we might find these in. But to understand what modified milk ingredients are, we must first look at what natural, unaltered milk is, as well as what the term milk ingredients means.

In its natural, unaltered, whole and fluid form, milk is said to contain everything that the human body needs in terms of nutrition. It is, after all, traditionally the first and singular food source and sustenance of  growing infants (keep in mind, this statement refers to human breast milk and there is debate on whether humans should consume dairy milk; a topic this entry will refrain from discussing).

With this in mind, milk is quite complex, containing somewhere around one hundred separate chemical compounds. Milk is composed of over 80% water, with milk solids making the remaining, somewhere just under 20%. With the water portion of milk comes trace amounts of water soluble vitamins; vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin), C and Folate.

Of the milk solids, lactose, milk’s natural occurring carbohydrate/sugar, is the largest component. This is followed by the next largest amount of milk solids, fats. The fat of milk is one of the most complex fats in nature, and dairy milk fat contains over 400 different fatty acids. Along with its fatty acids, comes trace amounts of fat soluble vitamins; vitamins A, D, E, and K. Next comes the proteins of milk, 80% of which comes in the form of caseins and the lesser remaining classified as whey proteins. Lastly comes minerals, making up less than 1% of milk; yet all minerals essential to human health are contained in milk. These minerals can be divided into major minerals of milk and trace minerals of milk. Major minerals include Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Sulfate,  and Carbonate.

These above mentioned components are what make up natural, unaltered, whole, fluid milk; So what are modified milk ingredients then? First, let us cite the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) items 7, 7.1, and 7.2 of subsection B.01.010 (3) for their definition of milk ingredients and modified milk ingredients.

Milk ingredients are defined as “any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form; namely butter, buttermilk, butter oil, milk fat, cream, milk, partly skimmed milk, skim milk and any other component of milk the chemical composition of which has not been altered and that exists in the food in the same chemical state in which it is found in milk.”

​Modified milk ingredients are defined as “any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form; namely, calcium reduced skim milk (obtained by the ion-exchange process), casein, caseinates, cultured milk products, milk serum protein, unfiltered milk, whey, whey butter, whey cream and any other components of milk the chemical state of which has been altered from that in which it is found in milk.” Furthermore, section 7.2 states that if “one or more ingredients or components set out in item 7 combined with any one or more ingredients or components set out in item 7.1” it constitutes as modified milk ingredients.

To put it more directly, by regulation, only milk in its unaltered, natural whole and fluid form, may be called milk. If it remains whole and unaltered in chemical composition but has been altered in its physical state (dry, reconstituted, frozen, skimmed, concentrated etc.) it may be called milk ingredients;  or may be listed specifically (dried skim milk, for example). If select chemical components of milk ingredient are used or removed or extracted from the rest (just the whey or caseins or calcium removed or kept etc.), it then becomes modified milk ingredients.

Modified milk ingredients is essentially an umbrella term that may be listed in a product’s ingredients for any chemically modified milk; whether on its own, or in combination with true milk ingredients. When I say chemically modified I mean any select elements naturally contained in milk, in any select combination and amount (fats, proteins, sugars, and minerals); The idea is that one can take what is wanted and leave the rest. Modification is done by any number of separating processes depending on what ingredients are the aim of isolating and extracting.

Often, a company might use the generic umbrella term “modified milk ingredients” is to cut down on the product ingredients list; listing it just as “modified milk ingredients’ instead of having to list each and every ingredient of milk used. Long lists tend to scare consumers, especially when containing unfamiliar words. It also allows producers to change those modifications at a later date without having to change the label. Of course, the downside to using this generic term, from a company’s view, is that it also tends to frighten consumers. “Modified” tends to be associated with more negative views (like genetically modified), whereas the European choice in words for “modified milk ingredients,” the term  "natural milk constituents," tend to be received more positively. From a strictly consumer view, the listing of the individual milk ingredient might be extremely helpful, especially when an individual has a specific allergy or intolerance to that specific ingredient, though the term "modified milk ingredients" or "natural milk constituents" might indeed be less overwhelming. 

Specific names one might come across instead of the umbrella term “modified milk ingredients” include the select constituants of milk in various forms, such as caseinate or casein (ammonium, calcium potassium, hydrolized or other), Whey (protein, demineralized, delactose or other), lactalbumin, lactate, lactose, lactoferrin, lactoglobulin, milk derivatives, and many others selective ingredients of milk. Familiarity with these terms becomes most important when dairy product is used in foods other than dairy and an individual has allergies or intolerances to these select ingredients.

So what do we find modified milk ingredients in these days? If you Take a trip to your local grocery store, and peruse the dairy isle, you will find this ingredient on a majority of products; pre-shredded, block and creamed cheese, sour creams, yogurts, and ice desserts/cream. It is also present in an assortment of artificial butters, coffee whitener and non-dairy creamers, baked goods and mixes, brown sugars, high protein flours, salad dressings and dips. You will find it in colourings and flavorings, wax used on fresh fruits and vegetables, in chocolate, egg and fat substitutes, sauce packets, deli meats, hot dogs, instant potatoes, seasoning and soup mixes... The list truly goes on.
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With an understanding of what natural and unaltered milk is, what milk ingredients are, and what modified milk ingredients are; and how they may present on labels and what products you may find these modified ingredients in and on; we discuss in the next entry why they exist at all, and why their uses in products seems to be flourishing. We also discuss what this all means from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective.

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