**4. Final remarks**

Despite the persistence of lactose intolerance in the population, the dairy industry produces 400,000 tons of crystalline lactose worldwide [6]. The food and pharmaceutical industries use large amounts of lactose. Foods like instant coffee, infant formula, baked foods, and many others utilize lactose as an ingredient. This saccharide has a lower caloric value and a lower glycemic index than other carbohydrates. Additionally, lactose is less sweet than sucrose, and it has good plasticity and compressibility. These properties of lactose explain why most pharmaceutical pills contain lactose as a filling material. Derivative lactose compounds like lactic acid, lactitol, lactulose, and oligosaccharides gain interest in the food industry [5, 6, 12].
