The story of cows … not a bad tale: bio-engineer Hélène Soyeurt (1) has adapted a system which was already in existence so that dairy farmers can identify, at a very low cost, the mineral and fat content of their milk. This is a world first and is rich in repercussions.

Hélène Soyeurt is a bio-engineer and head of research at the FNRS at Gembloux Agro-Bio-Tech at the University of Liège. Since publishing her dissertation in 2006, she has collated and analysed milk samples taken from Walloon dairy herds. The hundreds of little pots of milk that she has collected have been explored in many publications and have led to the real possibility of major changes in dairy farming. As a result of her work, livestock breeders can now use the mid-infrared spectrometry system (MIR), which they were already using, to collate valuable additional information: the detailed composition of the fat content and some mineral content of their milk production or of each individual cow. Through MIR, this new information is now available at a very low cost: it is around 100 times cheaper than traditional analyses of levels of major fatty acids in milk. This basic information can serve as a basis for developing milk production and for making a judicious choice in terms of animal selection. Can this put the smile back on the faces of dairy farmers, who are currently in despair at the slump in the price of their primary product? For them there is now a reasonable prospect of improving the nutritional quality of their milk and its derivatives. As for consumers, they too should have much to gain from such a project.

The richness of milk

Producing and offering a better quality of milk is a major public health objective. Milk and the products which derive from it are a major source of minerals in the human diet, thanks to the magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and, above all, the calcium which they contain. Milk and its derivatives provide the main source of calcium in Western Europe. In Belgium, cheese consumption covers 27% of our requirements and milk covers 54% (in terms of milk, this ranges from 40-70% in Western Europe, depending on the country, but peaks at more than 70% in the United States).

Calcium plays a role in several metabolic functions, including ossification, blood coagulation and muscle contractions. We currently consume far below the recommended quantities (1,200mg/day for teenagers and the elderly, 900mg/day between the ages of 19 and 59): in 2004, a Belgian study demonstrated that men consume on average 838mg/day of calcium, while women consume 716 mg/day. Sufficient calcium intake prevents the risk of osteoporosis, particularly in women, but can also prevent arterial hypertension or even, for example, colon cancer. This mineral also has an effect on weight regulation, among other things.

Certain dairy products are currently enriched with calcium, principally with the aim of preventing osteoporosis. Any method of producing milk which is naturally rich in calcium and/or other important minerals can only be a "plus" for dairy farmers. They could thus promote good evidence of the health benefits of milk and ensure that the price of their product matches its high quality. It is estimated that the combination of the various minerals contained in milk is more effective than the minerals taken in isolation in the form of dietary supplements.

(1) Have aslo contributed to the research: Pierre Dardenne and Frédéric Dehareng (Walloon Center of Agronomic Researches (CRA-W), Quality of Agricultural Productions), Didier Veselko and Emile Piraux (Battice Milk Committee), Carlo Bertozzi (Wallon Association of Rearring (AWE)) and Nicolas Gengler (FNRS Gembloux Agro-bio tech - ULg)