List of milk and dairy products

Here it is – Our handy guide to identifying milk ingredients on food labels, from the obvious to the downright obscure! The list below is from my book.

Please do not rely solely on this dairy ingredient list, as it is intended for informational purposes only. If you are dealing with a severe milk allergy or intolerance, always check with the manufacturer prior to consumption of any food product. Ingredients and processes are subject to change at anytime, which means a once “safe” product or ingredient may not be “safe” the next time around.

While many resources (such as FAAN) may note some of the ingredients that we have listed as “rarely dairy ingredients” as “safe” for milk allergies, we have opted to err on the overly-cautious side with this dairy ingredient list, because the potential for extremely sensitive milk allergies and intolerances seems to be increasing in frequency and the globalization of our food supply can create some unexpected ingredient issues.

Definitely Dairy Ingredients

• Acidophilus Milk
• Ammonium Caseinate
• Butter
• Butter Fat
• Butter Oil
• Butter Solids
• Buttermilk
• Buttermilk Powder
• Calcium Caseinate
• Casein
• Caseinate (in general)
• Cheese (All animal-based)
• Condensed Milk
• Cottage Cheese
• Cream
• Curds
• Custard
• Delactosed Whey
• Demineralized Whey
• Dry Milk Powder
• Dry Milk Solids
• Evaporated Milk
• Ghee (see page 109 in )

• Goat Cheese
• Goat Milk
• Half & Half
• Hydrolyzed Casein
• Hydrolyzed Milk Protein
• Iron Caseinate
• Lactalbumin
• Lactoferrin
• Lactoglobulin
• Lactose
• Lactulose
• Low-Fat Milk
• Magnesium Caseinate
• Malted Milk
• Milk
• Milk Derivative
• Milk Fat
• Milk Powder
• Milk Protein
• Milk Solids
• Natural Butter Flavor
• Nonfat Milk
• Nougat
• Paneer

• Potassium Caseinate
• Pudding
• Recaldent
• Rennet Casein
• Sheep Milk
• Sheep Milk Cheese
• Skim Milk
• Sodium Caseinate
• Sour Cream
• Sour Milk Solids
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Sweet Whey
• Whey
• Whey Powder
• Whey Protein Concentrate
• Whey Protein Hydrolysate
• Whipped Cream
• Whipped Topping
• Whole Milk
• Yogurt
• Zinc Caseinate

Potentially Dairy Ingredients

• Artificial or Natural Flavors/Flavoring – These are vague ingredients, which may be derived from a dairy source. A few of particular concern are butter, coconut cream, and egg flavors.
• Fat Replacers – Brands such as Dairy-Lo® and Simplesse® are made with milk protein.
• Galactose – This is often a lactose byproduct, but it can also be derived from sugar beets and other gums.
• High Protein or Protein – Ingredients noted with no further details may be derived from milk proteins (casein or whey). This is particularly true in “High Energy” foods.
• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein – The processing phase may use casein, but only trace amounts would likely remain.
• Lactic Acid Starter Culture – These cultures may be prepared by using milk as an initial growth medium.
• Lactobacillus – This term is noted often as a probiotic. It is in fact bacteria, not a food byproduct, and is named as such for its ability to convert lactose and other simple sugars to lactic acid. Though often utilized in milk products to create lactic acid, on its own, this ingredient is not always a concern. However, in some cases it may have been cultured or produced on dairy, and thus have the potential to contain trace amounts.
• Margarine – Milk proteins are in most brands, though not all.
• Prebiotics – A newcomer on the digestive health scene, these are indigestible carbohydrates. They are quite different from probiotics, which are living microorganisms. Prebiotics, such as galacto-oligosaccharides, lactosucrose, lactulose and lactitol may be derived from milk-based foods.