NZ cows produce own skimmed milk

Tuesday, 29 May 2007, 12:33 GMT 13:33 UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6700129.stm

Experts in New Zealand have discovered that some cows have the gene to produce skimmed milk. The first cow with the ability of producing skimmed milk was found in 2001, and experts have been able to breed calves that also produced skimmed milk. The original cow was called Marge and it produces milk that was low in saturated fats and high in healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. This skimmed milk could be also used make more spread able butter. Marge was discovered during a testing of milk compositions of New Zealand’s cows. And the “skimmed milk” gene also emerged in some of her calves. High levels of saturated fats can increased the risk of heart diseases. Ed Komorowski, told BBC News, "By having cows producing skimmed milk, if you are a dairy company that only really wants skimmed milk, then you might want to get it straight from the cow, without having to separate the [cream out of the milk] and sell on the surplus.” Typical whole milk contains 3.5% saturated fat, semi skimmed contains 1.7% and skimmed milk contains 0.1% fat content. This could mean that one day we would be able to breed a herd of cows that produce skimmed milk.