Granted Patent B2

US 12,630,811 · App. 17/285,288 · Granted May 19, 2026

Inventors: Hans Raj (Hoersholm, DK); Johannes Maarten Van Den Brink (Hoersholm, DK); Christian Gilleladen (Hoersholm, DK)

Assignee: Chr. Hansen A/S

C12N9/2471A23B11/12A23C9/1206C12Y302/01023

Abstract

Claims (19)

1 . A process for producing a lactose-free or low-lactose acidified milk product, comprising:

(a) acidifying a milk base to obtain an acidified milk product having a pH of 3.0 to 5.0, and

(b) before, during, or after step (a), adding a bacterial peptide to the milk base or acidified milk product,

wherein the bacterial peptide exhibits beta-galactosidase enzyme activity which has an activity optimum at a pH of below pH 6.7 and wherein the bacterial peptide is selected from peptides having the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs. 1, 2, 3 and 14, and

wherein the acidified milk product has a lower lactose level than an acidified milk product produced by a process where no bacterial peptide is added, but is otherwise identical to the process as claimed.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide has an optimum beta-galactosidase activity at a pH of below pH 5.5 when measured at 37° C.

3 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide is derived from a lactic acid bacterium of a genus selected from Lactococcus, Lactobacillus , and Streptococcus.

4 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein activity of the bacterial peptide is determined by preparing a reaction mixture comprising (i) 13 μL of a diluted bacterial peptide composition comprising the bacterial peptide diluted in 50 mM NaH 2 PO 4 buffer at pH 6.7 containing 100 μM of MgSO 4 and (ii) 37 μL of a lactose solution comprising 140 mM of lactose in 100 mM sodium-citrate buffer at pH 4.5 containing 100 μM of MgSO 4 and incubating the reaction mixture for 10 min at 37° C.

5 . The process according to the claim 1 , further comprising subjecting the acidified milk product to a heat treatment so as to reduce the level of bacteria in the acidified milk product to no more than 1×10 2 colony forming units (CFU) per g, to obtain a heat treated acidified milk product.

6 . The process according to claim 5 , wherein the bacterial peptide is added after the acidifying step, prior to the heat treatment.

7 . The process according to claim 1 , further comprising storing the acidified milk product comprising the bacterial peptide at a temperature of at least 20° C. for at least 1 day.

8 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the acidifying comprises one or more of adding a chemical acidifier and fermenting with a lactic acid bacterium starter culture.

9 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide is added during or after the acidifying step.

10 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide has an optimum beta-galactosidase activity at a pH of from 3 to 5 when measured at 37° C.

11 . The process according to claim 1 , further comprising storing the acidified milk product comprising the bacterial peptide at a temperature of at least 20° C. for at least 3 days.

12 . A process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide has the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.

13 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide has the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.

14 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide has the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.

15 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the bacterial peptide has the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (143)