Even lactose intolerant individuals needn’t deny themselves the pleasure of drinking fresh milk. It is possible to add the enzyme lactase to milk directly then heat it up until it reaches an ultra-high temperature, which causes the lactose to break down. Mila produces its Lactose-Free Milk in this way. This partially skimmed milk contains a lactose percentage of only 0.1%.

Lactose is the technical chemical name for the milk sugar contained in milk. The human body cannot digest this oligosaccharide directly: in order for the human organism to metabolise lactose, a special enzyme called lactase must be present. All mammals produce this enzyme during lactation. The definition of lactose intolerance is the inability – or reduced capacity – of the body to produce lactase during adulthood. A strong discomfort during the digestion of fresh milk and dairy products that have a short ripening process is the main manifestation of this intolerance. Western culture describes this condition as food intolerance because intolerance to lactose in humans in considered quite normal; the ability to produce lactase for the entirety of one’s life is presumably the result of a genetic mutation in populations that have traditionally practised dairy farming.

In Asia and Africa, only a fraction of the population has the ability to produce lactase after weaning; about 90% of adults are lactose intolerant. On the other hand, the condition affects only about 5 – 15% of the population in North America and Europe.