Foods containing Casein

[Linda in BC]

Casein is a Milk Protein. It is a white, tasteless, odorless protein found in cow's milk. It is the curd that forms when milk is left to sour. It is used in many processed foods and products and may not be listed as an ingredient. It is the most commonly used milk protein in the food industry and contains 21 amino acids. There are many types and forms of casein.

Edible acid casein is used in coffee whiteners, infant formulas, processed cheese, and pharmaceutical products.

Hydrolyzed casein or protein is often used in canned fish.

Lactic casein is used in pharmaceutical products, food ingredients and as a binding agent in industrial products such as paint, glue, and paper.

Caseinates are the salts of casein since casein itself will not dissolve in water. Caseinates are made by dissolving acid casein in a suitable hydroxide and drying it to make a water soluble product.

Ammoniun caseinate is used mainly in bakery products and does not have to be listed on the ingredient label.

Calcium caseinate is used as a nutrient supplement and is in creamed cottage cheese, powdered diet supplements, nutritional beverages, processed cheese, and frozen desserts. It is used in creamed cottage cheese, powdered diet supplements, nutritional beverages, processed cheese, and frozen desserts because it has a milky appearance and smooth feel in the mouth

Potassium caseinate is a spray dried low flavor milk protein used in frozen custard, ice cream, ice milk, fruit sherbets and and pharmaceutical products.

Sodium caseinate is highly soluble and is used as an emulsifier in coffee whiteners, cottage cheese, cream cheese, liquers, yogurt, processed cheeses and some meat products. It is also used to improve the whipping properties of dessert whips.
Source Your Guide to Allergies, Judy Tidwell

Acid casein, a granular milk protein, is available in two types -- edible and technical.
Edible acid casein is highly nutritional, low in fat and cholesterol, and flavorful, making it ideal for medical and nutritional applications. It is used in coffee whiteners, infant formulas, processed cheese, and for use in pharmaceutical products.
Technical acid caseins have good binding properties and are used for the manufacture of paper coatings, adhesives, paints, concrete, textile fabrics, and cosmetics.

Hydrolyzed casein is casein that has been broken down partially or completely to its constituent amino acids. It may be labeled as hydrolyzed protein and is often used in canned fish.

Rennett casein is used in the manufacturing of products. Because of its good dye binding ability and excellent extrusion properties, it is ideal for use in plastics such as buttons, beads, buckles, knitting needles, and high quality plastics for jewelry.

Kosher
Kosher pareve foods are casein free. . Most parve foods are okay, but we've occasionally had trouble with desserts. It probably has to do with the degree of cleaning between milk and parve runs on the processing equipment. Kosher recipes, however, are a wonderful source of milk-free cooking ideas.

Foods that Contain Casein
Milk
Cream
Half & Half
Yogurt
Sour Cream
Cheese (all types except some soy brands)
Butter
Sherbet
White or Milk Chocolate
Ice Cream
Ice Milk
Creamed Soups & Vegetable
Soup Bases
Puddings
All bovine milk and milk products contain casein.
Avoid foods derived from goat and sheep milk as well as cow dairy products.


Foods That May Contain Casein
Margarine
Tuna Fish
Dairy-free Cheese (most brands)
Cosmetics, Medicines
Lactic Acid
Artificial Flavorings
Semi-Sweet Chocolate
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP)
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
Canned tunafish. Many brands contain "hydrolized caseinate". However, the low sodium ones in spring water (such as Star Kist), and all of Trader Joe brand tunafish, appear to be milk free.
Chicken broth: Any form, including canned and bouillion. Many brands contain milk solids.


Dairy Free Is Not Always Casein Free
Many non-dairy foods contain casein proteins. Avoid foods that contain any ingredient with casein or caseinate.
milk solids ("curds")
whey
casein (sodium caseinate, most commonly)
lactose (sodium lactylate, frequently)
lactalbumin and other names that begin with lact
galactose (a lactose by-product) Most people with milk allergies will have no trouble with galactose, but you should be aware that it may cause problems in some people.
protein (often "high protein" or "protein enriched" version of another ingredient, such as wheat) The added protein in foods (particularly "high energy" foods) is often milk protein.
Recaldent. This ingredient, found in some Trident brand chewing gums, is milk-derived.
Fruit flavored Tums contain undisclosed dairy. The original, white Tums are fine.
"natural ingredients". Some of these may contain dairy products or byproducts. Call the manufacturer (an 800 number is usually listed on the packaging) for further information.
and the obvious:
milk,
butter,
cheese,
yogurt...
Be especially alert when obtaining the following, as milk products creep in:
margarine hydrolyzed vegetable protein (for the unusually sensitive person) since the processing phase may utilize casein bread, and breaded (often fried) foods
chewing gum
soy cheeses
"non-dairy" anything, including Cool Whip. Non-dairy does not mean milk-free. It is a term the dairy industry invented to indicate less than 1/2 % milk by weight, which could mean fully as much casein as whole milk!
medicines and vitamins. Be sure to let your physician and pharmacist know about your allergy!
baby formula. Even some of the hypo-allergenic ones may contain casein in small amounts.

ALERT ! Many people with milk allergies also develop soy allergies. (This may be a result of exposure to soy at a very early age.) Most non-dairy baby formulas are soy-based. If your infant has a milk allergy, stay alert to the possibility of a soy allergy, or some other food allergy, developing. (For older babies, rice milk is a good alternative source of calcium.) If your baby is allergic to both milk and soy, consult with your pediatrician regarding an amino acid-based formula.

NOTE: I've been informed that sodium stearoyl lactylate has nothing to do with milk.

Chocolates. Even dark or bittersweet chocolate is often run on the same production line as milk chocolate, and the risk of cross-contamination is high if YOUR chocolate bar comes from the beginning of the run. You may, however, wish to check out kosher pareve chocolates, such as the ones offered at Chocolate Emporium. (Christmas and Easter themed chocolates are offered at this site, too. Another site which offers dairy-free chocolates, and never uses dairy on any of their equipment, is Chocolate Decadence .

Casein Free Alternatives
Rice, Soy or Potato Based Milks
Pareve Creams and Creamers
Mocha Mix
Tofutti Brand Better Than Cream Cheese
Tofutti Brand Sour Supreme
Sorbet
Italian Ices
Soy Ice Cream (not all flavors)
Ghee (if guaranteed casein free)
Soymage Cheese
Tofutti Brand Non-Dairy Desserts (not all flavors)
Coconut Butter
Imagine Brand Soups
Coconut Milk

Casein Awareness
Reading labels is imperative. If in doubt, always check with the manufacturer prior to purchasing a product. The word 'non dairy' does not necessarily mean the product does not contain casein or caseinates.
The terms to watch for include the ones mentioned above, as well as cheese, curds, milk proteins, and milk solids.
Imitation sausages, soups, stews, high-protein beverage powders, fortified cereals, infant formula, nutrition bars, bakery glazes, coffee whiteners, formulated meats, salad dressing, sauces, and whipped toppings all may contain casein or caseinates.
Casein and caseinates are used as extenders, tenderizers, nutritional fortifers, and texturizers, therefore can be found in products other than foods. For instance, Trident For Kids and Trident Advantage contain Recaldent which contains a milk-casein derivative. Other examples of products containing casein include cosmetics, adhesives, pharmaceutical, nutritional, and personal care products.
Labels that may indicate the presence of milk protein
Artificial butter flavor
Butter
Butter fat
Buttermilk solids
Caramel color
Caramel flavoring
Casein
Caseinate
Cheese
Cream Curds
"De-lactosed" whey
Demineralized whey
Dried milk
Dry milk solids
Fully cream milk powder
High protein flavor
Lactalbumin Lactalbumin phosphate
Lactose
Milk
Milk derivate
Milk protein
Milk solids
Natural flavoring
Pasteurized milk
Rennet casein
Skim milk powder
Solids
Sour cream (or solids)
Sour milk solids
Whey
Whey powder
Whey protein concentrate
Yogurt

[JLH]

THANKS, that's great.

[MaggieRedwings]

Thanks so much Linda. Sure didn't miss anything there and will be especially helpful to people just starting this journey.

Love, Maggie

[lulu]

Looks like I'm doing pretty good on the milk product ingredients, but still having D. Today, going to delete coconut oil, my one a day banana & white rice that I cooked after finding out the brown rice was hard to digest for me. Have gone back to D pretty bad just trying to delete gluten, plus passing what looks like parasites.

While my daughter's was so simple & immediately, mine looks like a much longer journey.

[tex]

While my daughter's was so simple & immediately, mine looks like a much longer journey.

I believe that as a group, celiacs tend to recover much faster than people with MC.

I hope you begin to see better results soon.

Tex

[harma]

Linda thanks for posting, although it is quite a depressing list, so many things that may contain casein. Another reason to stick to unprocessed food as far this is possible. Because if food sometimes even may contain casein and they don't even bother to put in on the label, how on earth can you be aware of it.

sigh...it can be so difficult this diet from time to time.

[Linda in BC]

Oh, I know, Harma! I find myself just basically sticking to the same foods all the time now, the ones that I know are safe for me, although it gets pretty boring. But for you, with moving to a different country, that is not even possible!
Are you going back to Jordan and if so, when?

Linda

[garina]

Linda,

What a terrific list. I didn't know there was so much to avoid and so glad to have this list. It's a keeper.

Thanks so much.

garina

[coryhub]

Thanks for this list it is really helpful and educating. As someone else said, sometimes it's easier to stick with the few safe foods that have been deemed safe. With your list maybe I can add a product or two. Thnx!

[RKrumland]

Interesting information -- quite a list!

Post date was Nov, 2010. Have there been any updates since then?

And does anyone know if there is casein in goat's milk or goat cheese? I ask because years ago -- mid 70's -- my baby daughter developed terrible stomach problems on regular milk and nearly every infant formula we could find. We even tried a semi-predigested protein drink for infants under development by one of the docs at Harvard Med -- she wouldn't take it and I could hardly blame her ... it tasted terrible. At one point one doc suggested goat's milk -- said the proteins were "smaller" and "easier to digest" as I recall. And it worked -- minor stomach discomfort at first, but within a couple weeks she tolerated it just fine. She was basically raised on it through toddler years. She seemed to grow out of her cow's milk problems and as a child drank regular milk daily. As a grown woman she still seems to have no problems with regular milk. So, just wondering ...

[HappyBird]

Thank you Linda........

Yesterday I found that some potato crisps also contain milk solids in various forms especially cheese & onion but also most other flavoured chips. I managed to find plain lightly salted potato crisps. The vegetable crisps are better - no milk solids there so far.

[tex]

Goat's milk is easier to digest than most cow's milk because it contains mostly A2 beta casein, whereas most modern cows produce A1 beta casein, and so that's why some people can handle goat's milk better than cow's milk. But we have a different problem — we actually produce antibodies to A1 beta casein. And virtually all milk contains at least some A1 beta casein, so that's why all types of milk cause us to react (with the possible exceptions that I will note at the end of this post). There are research reports that show that one of the peptides in the casein molecule apparently mimics the alpha gliadin peptide in gluten. That means that many immune systems mistake the casein peptide for gluten, resulting in the same immune system response as gluten, in those individuals.

In fact, the only casein tests available are for A1 beta casein, which is the type primarily produced by most modern dairy cows. Research shows that ancient cows produced milk that primarily contained A2 beta casein. There is only one amino acid different in the respective molecules that define these two proteins, but that single amino acid apparently makes a huge difference in the digestibility of the milk. Unfortunately, our ancestors made the wrong choice long ago, because they selected dairy cow breeds based on production, rather than on protein quality. Today, only a few of the less-popular dairy breeds produce primarily A2 milk, so that A2 beta casein is a very small percentage of the milk available commercially. Still, a difference of only one amino acid in the sequence may not be sufficient to prevent a reaction.

That said, it's possible that some casein-sensitive people might possibly be able to tolerate milk from Guernsey cows. Their beta casein A2 percentage is far, far better than any other modern breed, but it still contains a few percent of A1 beta casein, which may still be more than adequate to trigger an autoimmune reaction. Guernsey milk would be the best option to try, though, by far, as far as cows go. Goats and sheep, Asian zebu cattle, water buffalo, and yak milk is also mostly A2, but I don't know what the percentages are for them. Brown Swiss milk is mostly A2, but it's still roughly 30% A1 beta casein. Holsteins are the worst, at almost 79% A1 type, and, of course, Holstein cows dominate the dairy business. But finding a source of A2 beta casein milk does not guarantee tolerance. We might react to it just as we would to A1 beta casein, for all we know. There's no antibody test available for A2 beta casein.

While I'm not aware of anyone who is casein-sensitive who can tolerate milk that comes from any type of cows, goats, or sheep. There is a possibility that milk from cameloids (camels, alpacas, guannacos, llamas, and vicuñas) might be safe, because they are genetically different from all of the other milk-producing mammals. It's also possible that equine milk (horses, donkeys, asses, zebras, etc.) might be safe, but no one here has tried that, so we can only speculate about it's possible safety.

Tex