Benna today officially announced a new lactose free milk and yoghurt range to make the brand available to one and all. The announcement came as the company celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Roderick Galdes said the product is invaluable for the Maltese company to compete with any foreign brand in terms of quality.

Mr Galdes said that with the EU facing a milk crisis and dairy farmers all over Europe not getting adequate remuneration for their work, Malta and Benna have managed to stay at the forefront by producing fresh milk products sustainably.

The Head of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Consumer Studies at the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, Professor Suzanne Piscopo explained the implications of lactose intolerance and how this product addresses the issue.

Lactose intolerance affects people who cannot digest a natural sugar called lactose which occurs naturally in dairy products. This intolerance is due to the small intestine not producing enough of an enzyme called lactase which breaks own the lactose.

This milk, the professor explained, is still natural fresh milk but lactase has been added to it so that the sugar is broken down before ingestion. As a result, the milk actually tastes sweeter and people who are lactose intolerant can still enjoy the other benefits of milk, such as the calcium and protein it contains.

Benna chairman Brian Vella said Benna aimed to retain the highest European standards while remaining affordable. There will definitely still be a number of challenges for the household name brand in the future, but they will be overcome like any other challenge so far, Mr Vella said. Benna also feels responsible for the contribution it gives to the rural land of Malta, over 50% of which is being used to cultivate wheat for cow-feed.

Benna’s chief officer Martin Grech on the other hand spoke about how Benna has become such a successful household name which features as one of the most established brands in the country on all surveys. The new milk product, Mr Grech explained, will cost €1.10 per litre, while the yoghurts will cost 80c.

Photos by Jonathan Borg