DSM has launched Maxilact Smart, which it claims is the fastest lactase enzyme on the market, enabling a significant increase in production efficiency and capacity, and allowing dairy producers to meet the growing demand for lactose-free dairy products.

As the trend towards healthier eating grows, so does consumer awareness for topics like digestive health, the company notes. Lactose-free dairy has a stand-out health appeal, DSM says, offering all the nutritional benefits of dairy while being easier to digest. Lactose-free is therefore one of the fastest growing segments in dairy, which DSM believes creates new opportunities for dairy producers but also drives the need for a faster and more efficient production process.

“DSM is proud to introduce Maxilact Smart to enable our customers to grow their business with premium, lactose-free products,” said Merel Roes, Business Manager Milk Enzymes at DSM Food Specialties. “Inspired by feedback from our customers, our lactase experts developed this enzyme to have an impact on efficiency while maintaining a clean taste. Customers have confirmed in their trials that Maxilact Smart enables a double-digit increase in production efficiency by enabling faster production, meaning more throughput in less time.”

Maxilact Smart is the latest addition to DSM’s Maxilact range of lactase enzymes, consisting of products that are designed to ensure a clean taste. The new enzyme is said to be suitable for a variety of applications including milk and fresh dairy. It is claimed to be easy to implement in production, and can be added before or after heat treatment. As it positively impacts production efficiency by enabling faster production, it contributes to sustainability objectives as well, DSM says.