Valorisation of Colostrum

Colostrum is the first milk that all female mammals give after the birth of their child or calf. Its special constituents give the immune system of the newborn animal a true kick start. Often a cow gives more colostrum then needed by the calf and the surplus can be valorised.

Colostrum Processing is a specialized company that collects colostrum from dairy farms and processes it into a valuable powder for feed and food applications.

The challenge

Colostrum is not only very nutritious, it also supports the development of positive intestinal flora, optimal digestion and absorbtion of nutrients. Furthermore it contains large amounts of minerals, vitamins and various volatile components that activate and stimulate organs and glands. Colostrum is a beautiful gift of nature that should not be wasted!

Until recently it was not possible to process colostrum in The Netherlands. Besides, the processing costs were often too high for the envisioned application. Together with Colostrum Processing, Pascal Processing and Food Tech Brainport, Bodec accepted the challenge to find an economically feasible method to convert this side stream into valuable products. The Development Support Fund Metropoolregio Eindhoven offered financial support for this pilot project.

The approach

The installations of Colostrum Processing were connected the pilot plant equipment of Bodec. Besides the standard spray drying process also an Agitated Thin Film Dryer (ATFD) was evaluated. The dairy product was delivered frozen. Bodec implemented partial thawing, grinding, skimming and finally drying resulting in a high-grade powder. In the entire process, no extreme heating is required.

The results

The collaborating parties managed to develop a process that extracts the valuable constituents from the colostrum carefully ánd efficiently. Because it is a mild process, the resulting quality is higher than with previously used methods. The new process setup gives Colostrum Processing lower costs and higher output, enabling them to compete with existing suppliers.

Testimonial

“Processing Colostrum is a specialized activity with relatively small volumes and high value. In traditional dairy processing plants the volumes are much bigger making them totally unsuitable for developing this kind of special technology. The pilot plant of Bodec is specifically built to try new ideas in small batches. Our new process has lower costs, higher output and delivers a better quality product. With the help of Bodec, we can now enlarge our market without the need to invest in a factory of our own.”

Joop Nohlmans, owner Colostrum Processing