| Summary: | Approximately 6% of children and approximately 4% of adults in the western countries including the United States (US) have food allergies. Milk allergy is reported to be one of the most common food allergies affecting as high as 7% in the US. Celiac disease affects approximately 1% of the US population. Such individuals are required to maintain diets restricting milk and gluten. Autism is estimated to affect over 673,000 in the US. A milk-free gluten-free diet is recommended for autism. The gluten grains identified are wheat, oats, barley and rye and any by-products or cross-bred grains of these products. Foods containing milk and milk by-products include those with casein, whey, curds, and glycomacropeptide (GMP). Literature search indicates problems including high cost, labeling, difficulty in finding specialty items, and quality contributed to difficulties maintaining a gluten-free diet.
A study of several local specialty stores and groceries to establish the availability of gluten-free food products that were also milk-free was performed. Celiac consumers were asked to complete a survey on the gluten-free products found in the store survey. The survey was to identify product problems. The conclusion from these two studies was that gluten-free bread products was the most unsatisfactory and there was a need to develop a desirable bread product.
Two gluten-free milk-free French breads were developed comparable to wheat French bread. Several gluten-free flours and combination gluten-free flours were tested using the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA). Texture, color, microbiological analyses and gluten testing procedures were performed. General and target sensory population studies were performed. The non-Celiac population results revealed marginal acceptability. The Celiac population sensory study rated the gluten-free milk-free breads as acceptable. Intent to purchase both gluten-free loaves of bread was rated acceptable.
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