A novel correlation for rapid lactose determination in milk by a cryoscopic technique

Residual lactose in special milk was systematically determined for people with lactose intolerance by means of a rapid on-line measurement of the cryoscopic point. A proposed cryoscopic procedure was compared to 2 conventional yet highly laborious methods: the enzymatic procedure with spectrophotometric control and the polarimetric method. Several experiments with different mixtures of both semi-skimmed and low-lactose milk were performed. A lineal relationship was found between lactose concentration and freezing point, the analytical equation for which shows a close relationship regarding the 3 methods used. The advantages of the cryoscopic procedure include speed in obtaining results and operational simplicity at a low cost, better monitoring of enzymatic hydrolysis kinetics, and greater control over the production process for delactosed milk. The equation obtained also enables prediction of the lactose percentage in commercial milk by a simple measurement of freezing point.