A2 and bilona are not two kinds of ghee to choose between. A2 describes the cow: her beta-casein, a milk protein, is the A2 type. Bilona describes the making: milk set into curd, the curd churned into butter, the butter clarified. A jar can be both, either one or neither. Many seller pages run the two words together as if one implied the other. They do not, and each needs its own evidence.
At a glance
- A1 and A2 beta-casein differ at one position, 67, where A1 carries histidine and A2 carries proline, according to a 2017 systematic review in Advances in Nutrition.
- The same review says the A1 mutation is absent in purebred Asian and African cattle, and that A2-only milk can also come from European-type herds selected to be free of it.
- In the curd-butter method of a 2025 study in Food Chemistry: X, milk took a 2 per cent starter culture and set for 22 hours before the curd was churned into butter.
- FSSAI's ghee standard (2.1.8) names neither a breed nor a method; its 21 August 2024 advisory calling A2 claims on milk fat products misleading was withdrawn on 26 August 2024.
- The 2025 study found the method changed ghee's aroma compounds but not its fatty acids, while the breed changed the fatty acids.
What does "A2" on a ghee label describe?
The animal, not the process. A1 and A2 are two genetic types of beta-casein, a protein in cow's milk. They differ at position 67 of the protein chain, where A1 carries histidine and A2 carries proline. A cow makes one type or both according to her genes, so A2 is a fact about the herd.
The 2017 systematic review in Advances in Nutrition by Brooke-Taylor and colleagues sets out the background. Beta-casein makes up about 30 per cent of the protein in cow's milk. The A1 form arose from a mutation in the ancestors of modern European-type cattle, a mutation the review says "is absent in purebred Asian and African cattle". A2-only milk can also come from European-type herds genetically selected and certified free of it.
So "A2" does not strictly mean "Indian breed", and an Indian breed name is not a guarantee either. A 2023 genotyping study of 1,000 milk samples from seven Indian breeds found mean frequencies of about 0.80 for A2-only cows and 0.19 for cows carrying one A1 copy (Khan et al., 2023; two of its five authors list an A2 milk company as their affiliation). What the two proteins do in milk, and how thin that research is, is in what A2 milk is.
What does "bilona" on a ghee label describe?
The method. A bilona is the wooden churn used to beat curd into butter, and on a ghee label the word is used for the curd-churned route: milk is set into curd with a starter, the curd is churned until butter separates, and that butter is clarified into ghee. Nothing in the word says which animal gave the milk.
A 2025 study by Kataria and Singh in Food Chemistry: X describes it in laboratory terms. For its curd-butter ghee, milk was inoculated with a 2 per cent starter culture and incubated at 30 ± 5 °C for 22 hours until the curd set; the curd was then churned into butter and clarified. In the cream-butter method a centrifugal separator takes the cream out first; a third route ferments that separated cream before churning it.
Two details matter. The study churned its curd with an electric blender, so "curd-churned" does not tell you the tool. And it found the fermented-cream route gave volatile compounds similar to the curd route's, suggesting it as a scalable alternative to the traditional process. A ghee described as cultured may have skipped the curd stage. The two main routes are compared in bilona ghee vs cream ghee.
Can a ghee be both A2 and bilona, or neither?
Yes, all four combinations are possible, because the words answer different questions: which cows, and which method. Kataria and Singh made curd-churned and cream-separated ghee from the milk of both native Deoni and crossbred Holstein Friesian cows: breed and method varied independently.
- A2 and bilona: milk from A2 cows, set into curd and churned: what a jar carrying both words claims.
- A2, not bilona: milk from A2 cows, run through a cream separator and clarified. The milk is still A2; there is no curd stage.
- Bilona, not A2: milk from crossbred or European-type cows that may carry A1, set into curd and churned. The method is genuine; the milk is not A2-only.
- Neither: separated cream from mixed herds, clarified directly. Kataria and Singh note that most cow milk today comes from hybrid or crossbred cows, and industrial ghee from cream.
What does FSSAI say about A2 and bilona claims?
Nothing that defines either word. FSSAI's ghee standard fixes the name and the composition, and names no breed and no method. In August 2024 FSSAI told sellers to remove A1 and A2 claims, then withdrew that advisory five days later. Both words are therefore the seller's claims, held to the general rules on claims.
Standard 2.1.8 in FSSAI's dairy chapter describes ghee as "derived exclusively from milk or products obtained from milk", with almost all water and milk solids-not-fat removed, and requires at least 99.5 per cent milk fat and at most 0.5 per cent moisture. Its one nod to method: "Ghee has especially developed flavour and physical structure as a result of its method of manufacturing." Which method, it does not say.
On A2, FSSAI's advisory of 21 August 2024, addressed to e-commerce food businesses, said that "A1 and A2 differentiation of milk is essentially linked to difference in structure of protein (beta casein)", that "use of any A2 claims on milk fat products is misleading", and that its milk standards "do not mention/ recognize any differentiation of milk on the basis of A1 and A2 types". An order dated 26 August 2024 states that the advisory "stands withdrawn for further consultation and engagement with the stakeholders." In our searches we found no later FSSAI standard or order on the question.
No FSSAI document we opened mentions bilona at all. What applies to both words is the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, which define a claim as anything that implies a food has particular qualities "relating to its origin, nutritional properties, nature, processing, composition or otherwise", and require claims to be "truthful, unambiguous, meaningful, not misleading". A2 is a claim about origin; bilona is a claim about processing.
How can a buyer check each word?
Separately, by asking for different evidence. An A2 claim rests on the herd, so the question is which animals and whether they were genotyped. A bilona claim rests on the process, so the question is how the milk was handled. A standard ghee lab report tests composition against FSSAI's limits, which name neither breed nor method.
| Label term | What it describes | How a buyer can check | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | The cows' beta-casein type, set by their genes | Ask for the breed and region, and whether the herd was genotyped; a breed name alone is a strong hint, not proof | Brooke-Taylor et al., 2017; Khan et al., 2023 |
| Bilona | Milk set into curd and churned to butter before clarifying | Ask whether the milk itself was set into curd, and how many litres of milk go into a litre of ghee | Kataria and Singh, 2025 |
| Cultured or fermented | A starter culture was used, possibly on separated cream rather than milk | Ask whether the culture went into the milk or into cream | Kataria and Singh, 2025 |
| Ghee | FSSAI's legal name: at least 99.5 per cent milk fat, at most 0.5 per cent moisture | A batch-coded lab report against the standard's limits | FSSAI standard 2.1.8 |
The litres question helps with bilona: curd-churned cow ghee takes about 30 litres of milk per litre, cream-separated about 20 to 23. For A2, the jar is a poor witness, because making ghee removes almost all the milk solids-not-fat, where the protein sits; why that defeats laboratory tests is in whether a lab can prove your ghee is A2.
Which word tells you more about the ghee in the jar?
For aroma, bilona; for the fat, the breed behind the A2 label. In the 2025 study, the curd-butter route gave higher levels of volatile acids, alcohols, lactones and ketones in both breeds. The method made no difference to the fatty acids, which differed by breed instead.
The Holstein Friesian ghee was higher in polyunsaturated fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid than the Deoni ghee, whatever the method. That is one study of two breeds, not of A1 against A2. The protein itself is the weaker signal once milk becomes ghee: FSSAI's standard leaves at most half a per cent of the jar for everything that is not milk fat. Himdhara makes its ghee from the milk of free-grazing Badri cattle by the curd-churned method, so it carries both words; the checklist in how to choose A2 bilona ghee applies to any jar, ours included.
The short version
A2 is a word about the cow: her beta-casein carries proline, not histidine, at position 67. Bilona is a word about the method: milk set into curd, churned to butter, then clarified. Neither implies the other. FSSAI defines neither word; its 2024 advisory against A2 claims was withdrawn within five days. Ask for evidence of each claim separately: the herd for A2, the process and the milk ratio for bilona.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- Brooke-Taylor S, Dwyer K, Woodford K, Kost N (2017). Systematic Review of the Gastrointestinal Effects of A1 Compared with A2 β-Casein. Advances in Nutrition.
- Kataria D, Singh G (2025). Effect of processing methods on fatty acid composition and flavour profile of clarified butter (ghee) obtained from Deoni and Holstein Friesian cow breeds. Food Chemistry: X.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011: Chapter 2.1, Dairy products and analogues (2.1.8 Standard for Milk Fat Products). FSSAI.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (2024). Clarification regarding Selling/ Marketing of Milk & Milk products such as Ghee, Milk etc in the name of A1 & A2, 21 August 2024. FSSAI.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (2024). Order: Clarification regarding Selling / Marketing of Milk & Milk products such as Ghee, Milk etc in the name of A1 & A2, 26 August 2024. FSSAI.