Sinan Akdoğan (OMÜ Kurumsal İletişim Koordinatörlüğü Haber Merkezi)
Professor Duygu Dalgın, a faculty member at Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Veterinary Faculty, has announced the 'Calf Life Milk' project, which involves transforming colostrum—the first milk obtained from the mother within the first 24 hours after birth—into powder form. "If the mother's colostrum is weak, this substitute is given to the offspring, thus providing the opportunity to raise a healthy calf. Moreover, this product is frequently used in sports powders, baby formulas, and immunity products," she said.
Professor Dalgın from the OMU Veterinary Faculty's Department of Internal Medicine shared that colostrum is converted into powder form, extending its shelf life through the' Calf Life Milk' project.
She highlighted the use of the powdered product for feeding calves that are inadequately nourished by their mothers, adding:
"Colostrum, rich in immunity molecules called immunoglobulins, available to humans, animals, or all mammals within the first 24 hours post-birth, is a precious milk with a high protein content. Calves are born completely devoid of immunity. They gain protection against infections in our environment through the colostrum they receive. If the colostrum from the mother is weak, which can happen with mothers who are first or second-time calvers, those who have undergone surgery, or those who have stayed dry for too long and are poorly nourished, the milk may not be very nutritious. This leads to frequent occurrences of calf diarrhea, a significant loss for the calf economy, and serious problems in Türkiye. In many European countries, these high-quality colostrums are dried into milk powder. If the mother's colostrum is weak, this substitute is given to the offspring, thus providing the opportunity to raise a healthy calf. Moreover, this product is frequently used in sports powders, baby formulas, and immunity products."
Highlighting the protein loss in the product from the Calf Life Milk project is only 2%, compared to 12% in products produced abroad, Prof. Dr. Dalgın pointed out, "Turning colostrum into powder is not like making milk powder. It's a much more challenging technology because the molecules inside are extremely delicate. Transforming them into powder without killing them is a precious process that was not available in Türkiye. There are many colostrum producers worldwide, and China and Canada host the largest industrial establishments, as well as the United States and Europe. However, no one was disclosing the specifics of how wet colostrum should be treated and at what pressure, and that's why we embarked on this journey. We have significant animal potential and value here, as well as knowledge and human value. We started with the mindset that 'this is not something we can't do.' We produced a local device in Türkiye, deciphered, and mastered this technology. We even managed to reduce the loss in the colostrum we produced to much less than that of the largest producer abroad, concluding our project at a very high-quality point. We've now reached the stage of producing it in our country."
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