11.01.03
IdeaSphere Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, has formed a strategic partnership with New Zealand-based A2 Corporation to introduce A2 milk to the U.S. market. A2 is free of the protein beta-casein A1. Beta-casein A1 has been linked by researchers at New Zealand’s University of Auckland Medical School and by epidemiological studies to the development of coronary heart disease, childhood diabetes and neurological and behavioral disorders. The company holds a patent on the process for producing A2 milk, which includes a DNA test for identifying cows that carry the A2 but not the A1 protein.