Cows given new feed to reduce fat in milk

by - 26/07/2010

"Shoppers could soon be able to drink healthier milk, after dairy cows were given an experimental new feed. "

Fifty farms across Britain have been testing out a new feed, which can reduce the saturated fat content of the milk by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent. It also helps reduce the carbon footprint of the milk because the cows burp less methane.

If the claims of the company are backed up by Reading University, which is helping to verifying them, it could be a major breakthrough.

Good diet can stave off kidney stones, claim scientistsThe Food Standards Agency has had a long-running campaign to reduce saturated fat in the country's diet, with dairy products being one of the major sources of this type of fat. Consumers in Britain, on average, eat 17 per cent too much saturated fat, which is widely associated with heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Dairy cows graze on grass during the spring and summer, but by October most are inside relying on winter food. For the next six months or so the saturated fat content of the milk increases, because it is eating silage supplemented by feed, such as rapeseed or soya.

Lintec, a new feed developed by BOCM Pauls, is made from a strain of linseed with very high levels of omega-3, similar to those found in lush spring meadows of grass.

According to the company all the trials on the farms have seen a marked reduction in saturated fat and a reduction in methane produced by the cows, a major cause of global warming.

Wyn Morris, at BOCM Pauls, said: "We're replicating what a cow finds in grass.

"We think there is a real future in this. We have proved it works. We just need the dairy industry to embrace it."

In full-fat milk, there is 3.6g of fat per 100ml, with 70 per cent of that saturated fat. In semi-skimmed there is about 1.6g of fat per 100ml, with again 70 per cent made up of saturated fat. What the lintec feed promises to do is keep the fat content stable, but reduce the saturated fat content down to 55 per cent or 60 per cent of the total.

A spokesman for Dairy UK, which represents the major processors that supply all the supermarkets, said he was excited by the development but cautioned that more research was needed to prove the milk produced was completely safe and would be bought by consumers. "We're standing by for more information," he said.

Obesity rates have doubled in the past 25 years and cutting saturated fat consumption to recommended levels would help prevent 3,500 deaths per year, the FSA has calculated.

More Details: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7906404/Cows-given-new-feed-to-reduce-fat-in-milk.html