Bunge Loders Croklaan Launches Infant Formula that Mimics Chinese Mothers’ Breast Milk Fat

Bunge LodersCroklaan (BLC), a global producer of specialty oils and fats solutions for the food industry, has introduced a lipid solution that mimics the fat composition of Chinese mothers’ breast milk, the company announced last January 20.  Betapol Select is BLC’s first product line designed to mimic the balance of OPL (oleic-palmitic-linoleic) and OPO (1,3-dioleyl-2-palmitoylglycerol) structured lipids naturally present in Chinese mothers’ milk. 
“Research in infant nutrition made us understand that macronutrients in human breast milk vary – not only with lactation stages, diurnally, and within feeds, but also regionally. These regional differences are influenced by the mother’s origin and diet. Our new solution combines the benefits of Betapol with the OPL and OPO balance naturally present in Chinese mother’s milk fat,” said BLC’s vice president nutrition Dr Emiliano Rial Verde. OPO and OPL are structured lipids naturally present in breast milk. 
Recent research into mother’s milk had shown regional differences, according to BLC. In Western mothers’ milk fat, OPO was the most prevalent triglyceride, followed by OPL. However, in Chinese mothers’ milk, it was the opposite – the fat composition contained a higher level of OPL followed by OPO. To replicate this balance, BLC said Betapol Select provided a high level of SN-2 palmitate with the right balance of OPL and OPO triglycerides. “Data from Chinese mother’s milk gave us confidence in introducing Betapol Select to the Chinese market and respond to the needs of personalisation that parents are looking for in premium infant nutrition”, said Dr Wiola Mi, global human nutrition science lead of the new Betapol product.