December 12, 2024

 

Australia's MLA defends use of Bovaer feed supplement in cattle diets

 

 

 

Australia's top livestock organisation, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), has assured consumers a supplement fed to cows to reduce methane emissions is safe, after the product became the centre of a social media storm.

 

The supplement, Bovaer, which was found to reduce emissions from cattle burps and flatulence by up to 90%, is used by Australian cattle farmers who produce Coles's ‘carbon-neutral' beef.

 

Coles launched the carbon-neutral beef range last year, but is now facing backlash on social media.

 

The controversy began overseas following an announcement last month that the United Kingdom's largest dairy co-operative, Arla, had partnered with supermarkets to trial Bovaer.

 

Posts about the product's safety began to spike in the days following the announcement with their influence now being felt in Australia.

 

Bovaer has been authorised and is available for sale in more than 65 countries, including Australia.

 

Michael Crowley, the managing director of MLA, defended the product in a statement to the ABC.

 

"MLA has spent more than $1 million studying Bovaer over three projects in partnership with industry and universities," the statement read.

 

Crowley said MLA had consulted with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on all required approvals for its research.

 

The owner of Bovaer, dsm-firmenich, said the claims on social media about its products safety were "fake news".

 

Bovaer senior vice president Mark Van Nieuwland told the ABC the product had been tested widely.

 

"For example, the European Food Standards authorities (and) the UK Food Standards look at the evidence collected over the years [and] assess that independently," he said. "There's even a public comments period to this, and then [they] come to a conclusion, and they all concluded the product was safe."

 

dsm-firmenich advises that if used as recommended, Bovaer is not present in the food chain.

According to Van Nieuwland, the product had been reviewed in 150 scientific studies around the world and has been used commercially with no reports of any impact on cows or humans.

 

The CSIRO, University of New England, University of Queensland, and South Australia Research have all conducted research on Bovaer in Australia, with some studies finding it can reduce a cow's methane output by up to 90%.

 

Furthermore, one of Australia's largest privately owned feedlot and cattle management companies, Mort & Co, trialled Bovaer in 2022 and found the additive was safe and no traces remained in its cattle's meat, fat or kidneys.

 
- ABC News