Improving Profitability of Calf Milk Replacer
Milk proteins can be very expensive to include in Calf Milk Replacers (CMR) and there are significant economic advantages in replacing this expensive ingredient with alternative protein sources when raw material prices are high.However, the substitution of a protein source from milk derived raw materials to vegetable based components can have significant, negative, effect on the palatability of the CMR which results in poor acceptance and consumption by the calf.
Nutriad was approached by a leading CMR manufacturer to provide a solution that would overcome rejection problems of a CMR formula that contained no milk proteins. Initial research established and compared the taste profile of the target CMR and a control containing 35 per cent skimmed milk powder. Differences in taste profile are shown below (Fig 1.)
Fig. 1. Calf milk replacers containing milk protein taste creamier than those containing no milk protein.
The solution to the challenge was found in the formulation of a tailor-made flavour and sweetener formulation that was able to mask the vegetable like tastes whilst adding sweet creamy notes to improve the overall taste of the CMR (Fig 2).
Fig. 2. Addition of Nutriad palatability solution improved the taste profile of the calf milk replacer.
Nutriad’s Palatability Team enabled the client to improve the economics and taste properties of their CMR product formula while ensuring optimum performance on farm.