Suspicion grows about milk safety over Bovaer trials - but is there a need to be wary?
HUNDREDS of Stratford shoppers are boycotting supermarket milk, and turning to local farms instead.
It’s part of a backlash over the use of a feed additive called Bovaer, being trialled to cut methane emissions from dairy cows to help tackle climate change.
Scandinavian company Arla Foods, who own the UK’s biggest dairy cooperative, announced on 28th November that it was working with Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco to trial the use of Bovaer across 30 British farms.
But scare stories alleging potential health risks linked to certain ingredients in the supplement have swept social media, leaving large numbers of shoppers refusing to buy Arla’s milk and other dairy products including Lurpak butter.
The panic has spread leaving some suspicious of any mass-produced or supermarket-sold milk.
And shocking videos of people pouring milk down their sinks and toilets are rife on Facebook and TikTok.
Bovaer is approved for use by UK regulators and experts say it does not pose food safety issues. The Food Standards Agency has also reassured consumers that Bovaer is “metabolised by the cows so does not pass into the milk”.
It adds that Bovaer has undergone “rigorous safety assessments as part of the FSA’s market authorisation process” and is approved for use in the UK. It’s also approved for use in the EU, Australia, Canada and the US.
North Cotswolds Dairy, an independent farm near Shipston, who supply ‘cow juice’ bottled milk to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat, has moved quickly to reassure customers it doesn’t use Bovaer or similar supplements, such as Rumin8, developed by a startup backed by Bill Gates.
North Cotswolds Dairy put out a statement saying: “We want to reassure you that we are not involved in any trial which uses a feed additive to help reduce cow methane emissions.
“The good thing buying from farmers direct is we can tell you exactly how your milk is produced and share with you what we feed the ladies!”
Edward and Emma Hemming who run Farmer Teds Shed at Obelisk Farm, in Hockley Heath, have also posted a message saying: “We have had a few tags and messages on here about synthetic feeds Bovaer and Bill Gates’ Rumin8 that Arla is trialling with some supermarkets, which has been all over the media. Just for the record…we do not, have not and never will feed our girls any synthetic rubbish that will harm our cows or you.”
Paul Kings, whose KS Deliveries milk round supplies Stratford, Alcester, Temple Grafton, Ardens Grafton, Salford Priors, Bidford and Long Marston told the Herald he’s had a lot of people asking if the milk he delivers comes from farms or suppliers using the feed additive and he has been reassuring them it doesn’t.
Most independent farms and producers, such as North Cotswolds Dairy and Farmer Ted’s Shed, pasteurise their milk.
But food scares are driving more sceptics to seek out raw milk – milk that hasn’t been pasteurised.
Heather Couper, part of the Richardson family who farm at Carpenters Hill Farm in Beoley, near Redditch, told the Herald they’ve been selling their Straight from the Cow brand of raw milk for a decade. But they suddenly have twice as many customers and sales have jumped by a quarter.
She said: “We’ve seen an increase this year in sales for raw [milk], and this is definitely triggered by the scare – more people are trying to find local places to buy raw.
“A lot of people like ‘clean’, non-processed food and are trying to avoid food that’s been tampered with.”
She added: “We’re getting more enquiries each day.”
The Food Standards Agency warns raw or unpasteurised milk and cream is not recommended for some as it may contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
It advises people with a weaker immune system, who are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning, not to drink it. This includes pensioners, pregnant women, infants and anyone with a compromised immune system such as cancer or transplant patients.
What is Bovaer?
· Bovaer is made using silicon dioxide, propylene glycol and organic compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP).
· Those against its use have pointed to an FSA report published last year, which found 3-NOP ‘should be considered corrosive to the eyes, a skin irritant, and potentially harmful by inhalation’ to humans handling it.
· But the FSA and other experts have since pointed out that’s standard advice, and anyway, the additive is used only in very small quantities.
· Experts also add that no traces of Bovaer or compounds in it would be present milk, as they’re broken down in the cow’s stomach.
Raw drinking milk - the law
The sale of raw drinking milk is legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but can only be sold directly to consumers by registered milk production farms at the farm gate, or farmhouse catering operation.
The Food Standards Agency lists 140 raw milk producers that are licensed.
These include:
· farmers at registered farmers’ markets
· distributors, such as a milk round
· direct online sales
· vending machines at a farm
It’s illegal to sell raw milk in any other setting.
Sales of raw milk and cream are completely banned in Scotland.