Process aims at lowering heart disease

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33033, 28 September 1972, Page 1

Process aims at lowering heart disease

(N.Z.P.A. Staff Correspondent)

WELLINGTON, September 27.

Meat and dairy production methods aimed at the risk of heart disease were outlined in Wellington this morning. The process, already running on an experimental basis in Australia, is the result of investigation by scientists of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

Essentially it involves feeding ruminant animals—cows and sheep—with a special oil seed supplementary diet.

This changes the nature of ruminant milk and body fat so that when resulting meat and dairy products are eaten, an immediate lowering of blood cholesterol is achieved.

High levels of blood cholesterol is said by many leading heart specialists to be a significant cause of coronary disease. At a special meeting in Wellington yesterday leading New Zealand scientists and farming interests were briefed on the discovery by members of the C.5.1.R.0. Lipid process Represented at the meeting were the Heart Foundation, the health and agriculture departments, the D.5.1.R., the Dairy Research Institute, Massey and Lincoln Colleges, the Meat and Dairy Boards, and the Ruakura research station. The lipid process, as the method is known, and its effects were publicly outlined at a press conference todya by the visiting scientists. Dalgety-Agri-Lines Pty, Ltd, have been licensed by the C.5.1.R.0. commercially to produce poly-unsaturated meat and milk products.

The rpocess permits the protection of emulsified oil solutions from rumen degradation. In this way—using oil-seeds having a high content of poly-unsaturated oil —lamb, mutton, beef and milk may be produced having a 20 per cent to 30 per cent poly-unsaturated content of the fat. Animal feed The chief of the C.5.1.R.0.’s animal physiology division (Dr lan McDonald) said that as little as 31b to 41b of the lipid supplement per head per day is fed to cattle and Jib to lambs.

For meat production the supplement, which is mixed with a basic feed, is fed for 45 days before the animal’s slaughter. .Dairy cattle are fed daily while in milk. The C.5.1.R.0. had experimentally produced the full range of poly-unsatured products including beef, lamb, mutton, milk, butter, cream, cheese, and yoghurt. Dr McDonald said that medical trials had also been carried out to investigate the effects of feeding such products to humans. Dr McDonald said that because translation of the laboratory findings in practice was beyond the resources of the C.S.LR.O. the co-opera-tion of industrial firms had been invited to commercialise the process.

Dalgety-Agri-Lines, which operates in New Zealand,

Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, has proposed a carefully phased programme of develepoment. Dr McDonald said that the whole programme and process was aimed at people who, on medical advice, did not consume butter, cheese, milk, beef, lamb or mutton.

He said that research in Australia and the United States had shown that polyunsatured products caused an immediate reduction of at least 10 per cent in the level of blood cholesterol.

This was considered very significant by the medical profession and put poly-un-saturated ruminant products on at least equal competitiveness with margarine and synthetic meats on human health grounds. The blood cholesterol reduction effectively reduced the risk of deevloping coronary disease by 30 to 40 per cent, Dr McDonald said. Poly-unsaturated lamb and mutton has softer body fat with a lower melting point and is devoid of the taste and odour problems associated with marketing these products in some areas of the world. The new butter product is much softer than traditional butter. Dr McDonald said that ccws being fed the supplement showed a 15 to 30 per cent increase in butterfat production. Food dearer The C.S.LR.O. senior research scientist in the animal physiology division, Dr T. W. Scott, said preliminary cost analysis show that the polyunsaturated products would cost slightly more than traditional products. Steak will be 2c to 4c a pound dearer and milk about 1c a pint dearer. Butter will be 6c to 12c a pound dearer. It is expected that polyunsaturated meats and dairy products will be available in New Zealand next year on a test marketing basis. Dalgety-Agri-Lines are already growing oil-seed (sunflower, safflower and soya bean) in New Zealand and have this year stepped up production. The general manager of Dalgety New Zealand, Ltd (Mr D. C. Macdougall) told the press conference that investigations into the economic aspects of the process in New Zealand were well in hand.

He said it was essential that the polyunsaturated products be entirely home produced.

Farm pattern Indications are that polyunsaturated products will not be accepted only as "medicine” recommended by doctors or as another health food fad. The Australian scientists say it is quite conceivable that the new-type meat and dairy products will become widely accepted. If so, then the existing pattern of agriculture in New Zealand will be changed. Dr D. A. Evans, the re-

search officer for Dalgety’s, said there would have to be extensive production of oil seed to provide the polyunsaturated supplementary feed. It would have to be economically viable for farmers to convert land to grow the seed. Beef cattle and sheep would require handfeeding before slaughter and dairy cows would require regular daily feed supplements throughout lactation.