DuPont to use rBST-free sources for dairy culture production

DuPont Nutrition & Health (DuPont) has announced its plans to use dairy components obtained from recombinant bovine somatotrophin (rBST)-free sources for producing dairy cultures.

The move is in response to growing consumer preference for rBST-free sources.

DuPont regional product manager for cultures Jeff Lambeseder said: “As transparency becomes the norm, dairy producers can have the confidence in DuPont sourcing for all ingredients used to make cultures.

“Requests for rBST-free have increased, so we set our sights on all of the necessary certified dairy sources and were able to accomplish this next milestone in our cultures offerings.”

The demand for rBST-free dairy products forms part of a broader consumer trend towards clean label food with less artificial ingredients.

As well as identifying local sources and backup supply for rBST-free ingredients, the company has mandated all its suppliers to hold proper certification and documentation.

Lambeseder added: “We have been working diligently on local dairy sources. Making sure all the proper documentation and certification was in place has taken a while, but we can now give our customers the assurance they desire.”

rBST-free products are widely available in Europe and, with the latest announcement, the company claims to have made the products available in North America through local suppliers.

Even though the US Food and Drug Administration said that there is not much difference between milk from cows treated with rBST and milk that is not, the company decided to remove rBST in response to global consumer demand.