Characteristics of Cow Milk Proteins and the Effect of Processing on Their Allergenicity

Milk proteins are well known for their nutritional and functional properties. However, they are also members of the Big-8 food allergens including egg, fish, shellfish, soy, peanuts, wheat and tree nuts, in terms of prevalence. The most common milk allergens are casein fractions and β-lactoglobulin naturally not present in human breast milk. Thus, the examination of cow’s milk proteins as potential allergens that may cause food allergies and the identification of methods of reducing their immunogenicity are of great interest. The main objective of this chapter is to review the physico-chemical characteristics cow milk proteins as well as their studied allergenicity and immunogenicity as a function of some denatured dairy processes such as heating, high pressure, enzymatic hydrolysis and lactic acid fermentation.