“We are very well placed to convert with a well-run industry. New Zealand should seize the opportunity.”
The combination of grass-fed and A2 milk production is a potentially powerful marketing position for NZ dairying, giving added value for farmers.
He was commenting on the results from the latest comparative trial in China into A2 versus A1 milk consumption by preschoolers.
The trial had a strong design and the results are believable and should not be ignored.
“It shows stomach upsets from A1 and a dulling of intelligence, which is very significant.
“Problems in drinking milk for Chinese people were put down to lactose intolerance but this trial suggests effects that may not be lactose intolerance.”
The potential for selling A2 milk and dairy products to China is therefore huge, as its consumers seek more and more dairy foods for both infants and elderly, Elliott suggests.
The trial results from preschoolers are similar to those obtained by Chinese researchers in the past from a sample of adults.
A previous European study suggested adverse brain function in infants who consumed A1 milk but the trial structure was not as strong.
Elliott said the funding of these population studies by the A2 Company has to be recognised but is not alarming.
“All the drugs you use today have been through trials funded by the companies that developed them,” he said.
He does not have any A2 company shares and is not paid by the company.
Elliott is a former professor of child health at Auckland University and was the first scientist to delve into A2 beta-casein in milk and its implications for Type 1 diabetes and heart disease.
A statement from A2 Milk said it welcomes the publication in the Journal of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition of the results from the clinical study of 80 Chinese children.
“We were pleased to learn the study supports previous digestive and cognitive findings from adult clinical research.”
