The Dutch firm’s new product, Betapol® Select, is said to be a next generation innovation with balanced OPL and OPO structured lipids developed in response to recent research demonstrating that mother’s milk displays regional differences in terms of its fat composition.

Bunge Loders Croklaan, a global leader in specialty oils and fats solutions for the food industry, announced the launch of Betapol® Select, a premium lipid ingredient for infant milk formula that is inspired by natural variations in the composition of human breast milk. Betapol® Select is Bunge Loders Croklaan’s first product line that mimics the fat composition of Chinese mother’s milk.

 

“With the launch of Betapol® Select today, and award-winning Betapol® Plus last year, we are expanding our infant nutritional lipids portfolio in all geographies and getting closer than ever before to the gold standard of mother’s milk,” said Dr Emiliano Rial Verde, VP of Nutrition at Bunge Loders Croklaan.

Product benefits

“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,” Dr Verde continued. “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.”

OPO and OPL are uniquely structured lipids naturally present in mother’s milk. The presence of palmitic acid in the centre position (SN-2 palmitate) has been clinically proven, in the past decades, to improve energy intake, increase bone mineral density, reduce constipation, increase healthy gut bacteria, reduce crying, and improve sleep.

Research into mother’s milk fat 

Recent research into mother’s milk has shown regional differences. In Western mothers’ milk fat, OPO is the most prevalent triglyceride, followed by OPL (Oleic-Palmitic- Linoleic). In Chinese mother’s milk, it is the other way around: the fat composition contains a higher level of OPL, followed by OPO. To mimic this balance, Betapol® Select provides a high level of SN-2 palmitate with the right combination 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 generation Betapol®.

“Breastfeeding provides babies with the best start in life, but when breastfeeding is not an option choosing the right infant formula is key for babies’ healthy growth and development,” they continued. “While mother’s milk fat contains only three to four per cent fat, it provides 50 per cent of a baby’s energy intake in the first six months. Especially designed for the needs of Chinese babies, Betapol® Select provides the right OPL-OPO balance to mimic Chinese mother’s milk fat and, at the same time, comply with the current and upcoming Chinese GB standards for infant and toddler formula.”