New feed puts healthier milk in pipeline

The makers of Lintec, which is already used extensively on the

continent, claim it will reduce the saturated fat content and carbon footprint of dairy products and revolutionise the industry, according to a report yesterday in the trade magazine The Grocer.

The feed was introduced to the UK this week by BOCM Pauls, the

country's largest feed supplier.

A special processing technique produces a feed that subtly changes the cow's metabolism and fatty acid synthesis, The Grocer reported.

As a result, saturated fat levels in the milk were reduced and methane output, one of the most significant elements in the dairy industry's carbon footprint, was also cut as much as 10 per cent.

A BOCM Pauls spokesman said Lintec will: "revolutionise ruminant feeding in the UK" because it is "good for the cow, good for the farmer, good for human nutrition and good for the environment too".

The feed is made from a strain of linseed that has been bred to contain very high levels of omega-3, similar to those in fresh spring grass.

In France, its benefits have been promoted with either a Bleu-Blanc-Coeur - a blue-white flower featuring a heart-shaped petal – or an Omega-3 Naturally logo on product packaging.

A spokeswoman for Valorex, the firm that owns the patent rights to the extrusion process and is sharing its technical knowledge with BOCM Pauls, said: "Milk, yoghurt, eggs, ham, cheese, beef and many other products are all available with Bleu-Blanc-Coeur."

Valorex carried out extensive human nutrition trials to support the claims, she said.

Wyn Morris, from BOCM Pauls, said they didn't yet know how much the saturated fat levels or methane would be reduced in the UK, but research is continuing. They have already had a lot of interest from dairy processors and retailers, he added.