Semi-skimmed milk, straight from the cow

[Al-khiyal]

May 28, 2007 -- Scientists in New Zealand have found cows that can produce skimmed milk naturally. If researchers can locate the genes behind it, the discovery could revolutionise the dairy industry.

Skimmed milk makes up 75% of the market in the UK, which currently produces 14bn litres of milk a year, according to the Milk Development Council. All but 4.4bn litres is used to make dairy products.

Ed Komorowski, technical director at Dairy UK, told Chemistry and Industry magazine that the New Zealand approach could be used to breed cows that still produce full-fat milk but with only the unsaturated or good fats, which could swing demand back in favour of full-fat milk. High levels of saturated fat in the diet have been linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

"The big thing about dairy products is taste, so this would be a way of giving the benefits of taste without the disadvantage of saturated fats," said Dr Komorowski.

The rogue cows were found when a biotech company, ViaLactia, in New Zealand screened the composition of milk from its 4 million herd.

A typical pint of whole milk contains 3.5% saturated fat, much of which is removed to make semi-skimmed milk (1.7% butterfat) and skimmed (0.1%) and other low-fat dairy products. Though current supply and demand are balanced, the rising trend for low-fat milk could lead to a lot of wasted milk.

The New Zealand scientists also plan herds that produce milk with the properties needed to make butter that spreads straight from the fridge. They have already identified a cow, Marge, that fits the bill and say that a commercial herd could be bred by 2011. Marge's milk is low in saturated fats and high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Spreadable butters are often made by adding plant-derived oils, which technically means the result is no longer butter, or feeding cows polyunsaturates.

Dr Komorowski said although the lower-fat milk might be healthier, it was still uncertain how much milk the low-fat cows could produce.

The details are commercially sensitive, but Ashvin Sood, for ViaLactia, said the dairy company that owns Marge had made milk products which "maintain the positive taste with other desirable benefits".

Semi-skimmed milk, straight from the cow

[Al-khiyal]

Marge

May 28, 2007 -- New Zealand scientists are breeding a herd of cows that produce lower-fat milk after the chance discovery of a natural gene mutation in one animal.

Milk from the cows is also high in health-boosting omega-3 fatty acids and makes butter that spreads as easily as margarine even when chilled, biotechnology company Vialactia said Monday.

Scientists discovered a cow, later named Marge by researchers, carrying the mutant gene in a dairy herd they were testing in 2001, Vialactia chief scientist Russell Snell said.

Vialactia, a subsidiary of the Fonterra Cooperative Group, one of the world's largest milk companies, bought the cow for 300 New Zealand dollars ($218) and moved it to a research site.

While she looked like any other Friesian cow, testing revealed that Marge's milk contained about 1 percent fat, compared with about 3.5 percent for whole milk.

Offspring from the cow also produce low-fat milk, showing the genetic trait is dominant, Snell said.

Scientists have yet to isolate the exact chemical pathway responsible for the naturally produced low-fat milk, Snell said.

"Every now and then nature throws up these sorts of things and it was simply a case of us being in the right place at the right time," he said.

The company expects the first commercial herd of cows supplying natural low-fat milk and spreadable butter for the market by 2011.

Cows in New Zealand produce low-fat milk