Process for producing a lactose-free milk product

1. A process for producing a lactose-free milk product, having a ratio of protein to carbohydrates of about 1, comprising the steps of

a) ultrafiltering milk to obtain a final UF retentate and UF permeate,

b) nanofiltering the UF permeate obtained from the ultrafiltration of step a) to obtain an NF retentate and NF permeate,

c) concentrating the NF permeate obtained in step b) by reverse osmosis to obtain an RO retentate and RO permeate,

d) adding the RO retentate obtained in step c) as a salt directly to the final UF retentate of step a), to produce a milk base and

e) hydrolyzing lactose in the milk base product by means of lactase to produce a lactose free milk product.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1 , comprising adding another salt to the UF retentate besides the RO retentate.

3. The process as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the other salt is whey salt.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the hydrolysis takes 1 to 36 hours.

5. The process as claimed in claim 4 , performing the hydrolysis at a temperature of 5 to 70° C.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of conditioning the milk to the desired fat content and pasteurizing it before ultrafiltration.

7. The process as claimed in claim 1 , also comprising adjusting the dry matter content of the milk base or the lactose free milk product by adding water.

8. The process as claimed in claim 1 , comprising

a) ultrafiltering the milk by a concentration coefficient 1 to 4,

b) nanofiltering the UF permeate obtained from the ultrafiltration by a concentration coefficient 1 to 6, and

c) concentrating the NF permeate obtained in step b) by reverse osmosis by a concentration coefficient 2 to 20.