A2 milk, or A2/A2 milk, has become popular on the milk market. Most conventional milk found in grocery stores is A1, now milks are advertising their A2 status in the title or with a supplemental “A2” badge.
What is A2 milk?
The first cow produced milk with casein in an A2 protein structure, or A2 milk, similar to goats and sheep. The volume of milk produced by cows increased through human selection, and A2 structured casein was blended and overtaken by A1 proteins in the affected herds. “A2 milk” is usually cow milk that has been verified to contain A2 structured proteins.
Most conventional milk found in grocery stores contains a predominant amount of casein proteins in an A1 structure.
While research is limited, many consumers who experience negative reactions to conventional milk report no negative reactions to milk with A2 protein.
The milk those consumers are consuming may also be unpasteurized raw milk, which happens to also be A2 raw milk. One Polish study has shown that pasteurization affects milk with A1 proteins more than milk with A2 proteins. This likely means the A1 protein is not the issue, but pasteurization makes it so, and that A2 presents less of an issue when processed with heat treatment.
How to verify a cow milk is A2
A2 protein is a verifiable structure. It’s not as simple as expecting all Holstein cows to be A1, as many cows are interbed or simply not expressing the A1 genetics. The standard to verify your cow produces A2 milk is a hair test.
Consult your nearest animal laboratory, veterinarian, university, to test for A2 status.
How to find A2 raw milk
Goat and sheep milk are generally regarded as A2. If you find a goat that produces A1 raw milk, let us know. Acquiring goat or sheep milk is a safe way to know you’re getting A2 structured protein.
Cows should be tested to confirm their milk carries the A2 structured protein.
Find the goods on the All A2 Raw Cow Milk Global Map.
Find the goods on the All A2 Protein Raw Milk Global Map.
What is ‘a2’ milk?
a2 milk is a trademarked term. An Australian company is claiming the right to advertise their A2 dominant milk in the lowercase version of “A2.” Of course, this trademark holder does not hold the copyrights to A2 genetics or A2 milk.
A2 raw milk vs raw A2 milk
‘Raw milk’ should not be capitalized and only the breed should be placed between the words ‘raw’ and ‘milk.’ A2 raw milk is milk that has not been treated and contains casein in an A2 structure. Raw A2 milk is not a real thing, because there are no A2’s being milked.
