FAQ - Cows/Colostrum
ANTIBIOTICS/HORMONES:- Are antibiotics or hormones used on the cows?
It is unlawful to use antibiotics in lactating dairy cattle that will give rise to violable levels of antimicrobial drugs. All tanker truckloads of milk are tested in all processing plants for violable residues. Contaminated milk cannot be used for fluid or processing milk purposes. The financial penalties are severe and dairy producers have redundant management schemes in place to assure that residues do not occur. USDA and FDA statutes prohibit use of antibiotics as a feed supplement in lactating dairy cattle. 4Life's inquiry revealed that the dairy farms that produce raw colostrum for processing do not use hormones intended to increase milk production, including BST. Although it may be virtually impossible for any substance to make it through our stringent extraction and manufacturing process, this policy has been developed to address any concerns that our customers may have. If a cow is sick and must have antibiotics, the cow is removed from the line until no antibiotics are found in its system.
CALF/COWS:- Is the calf robbed of what it needs
The cow produces approximately five times what a calf requires.Are the cows hurt in anyway from the extraction method?
No. Normal milking protocol is followed and the animal does not suffer in any way.
COLOSTRUM:- How long is the transfer factor available in the colostrum?
The greatest concentration is during the first day, and it sharply drops off the third day. We test each batch for bioactivity.
What is the difference between transfer factor and colostrum?
Colostrum contains water, vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, carbohydrates, antibodies (immunoglobins), and a little bit of human growth hormones and transfer factors. Store milk can provide water, vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Antibodies in the cow's colostrum are specific to a cow therefore not beneficial. Human growth hormone is not a real factor here due to the minuscule amount contained in colostrum. What is important are water and transfer factors. Colostrum is good. It's just that we have found a way to extract the most important component, transfer factors. One would have to consume approximately 45 grams of colostrum to get the transfer factor activity in just one daily maintenance dose of 4Life Transfer Factor (3 small capsules)
MAD COW/VIRUSES:- What is the chance that transfer factor contains a virus itself?
No chance. Every batch is throughly tested for contaminates.
What is this company doing to assure Mad Cow disease is not a present factor?
4Life has a very specific strategy to avoid mad cow disease. The key to avoiding mad cow disease or any other disease is to monitor the cows very carefully. Avoid practices that expose cows to the disease and to test every batch of product as it is being processed. This is a regular procedure with 4Life. Any cow that shows signs of illness is thoroughly checked out to eliminate any chance of mad cow or any other serious condition. Every batch is tested for contamination.
Is there any danger of contracting Mad Cow disease through the cow's colostrum or from extracted transfer factor?
Experts on mad cow disease have stated that BSE does not pass through the mammary glands into the colostrum. In examining all of the cows that became ill with mad cow disease, not one of them had infected milk, colostrum or mammary glands. Scientists have found that different bovine tissues contain different amounts of the BSE agent. Scientists have also discovered that the highest amounts of infectivity from animals in the in the final stages of clinical disease are found in the brain and spinal cords. Milk has never been shown to have any infectivity.
World Health Organization:
"Tests on milk from BSE-infected animals have not shown any BSE infectivity, and there is evidence from other animal and human spongiform encephalopathies to suggest that milk will not transmit these diseases. Milk and milk products, even in countries with high incidence of BSE, are therefore considered safe."
Emerging Infectious Disease Journal:
"Many readers asked about the safety of milk and dairy products. Persuasive evidence indicates that these important consumables are risk free: milk from infected cows has been fed to, and injected into the brain of, susceptible RIII mice without transmitting disease. Even more convincingly, calves suckling gallons of milk from their infected mothers have not contracted the disease." Wilesmith JW, Ryan JBM. Absence of BSE in the offspring of pedigree suckler cows affected by BSE in Great Britain. Vet Rec 1997;141:250-1.
QUALITY CONTROL:- Who oversees the quality control protocol?
One of the foremost authorities in quality control has been contracted to accomplish the protocol. Richard Bennett Ph.D. has been an advisor to the FDA and the USDA. Dr.Bennett is the University of California Environmental Advisor in the North San Francisco Bay Region of California. Dr Bennett received his doctorate in Comparative Pathology at the world renowned UC Davis Agricultural Issues Center, and to numerous national and local corporations.
Where are the herds kept? And what is the quality control protocol?
Herds are maintained across the US. The herds are not placed near fields where pesticides or herbicides are used. All of the dairy herds that produce colostrum for processing are US FDA and USDA Grand A dairy farms. As such the farm and milk must meet the standards of state and federal milk quality ordinances, including the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO). These state and federally inspected farms produce milk for the Grade A Fluid Milk Market. Milk from these farms is sold in the market.
Are the cows just fed on meadow grass? Is the grass sprayed with super phosphate?
They are pasture fed, which means that they graze in the fields. However, it is customary to provide some hay or grain for them to munch on during the milking. All the feed is pesticide and chemical free.
Can you tell me a little bit about the milk and the process it goes through?
All colostrum is pasteurized in a proprietary process to assure its microbial safety and quality. Moreover, the ultra-filtration process will remove all known microorganisms. Once dried the powder is tested for viable microbes.
The agent associated with "Mad Cow Disease" (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, (BSE)) has NOT been identified in the United States dairy herd. Additionally, there is no evidence of milk borne transmission in the English experience with BSE and the 36 Crutzfeldt-Jakobs Disease (CJD) patients.
All other ingredients in the Transfer Factor™ product line are "Food Grade" as defined by the US FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and meet the US FDA GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) definition.
All products and processing meet the requirements of the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPS) Ordinance.
WHY:- Why were cows chosen as the source for Transfer Factor™?
Cow colostrum is an immense and available source. Transfer factors are non-species specific, meaning they can be used in humans even if the original source is a different mammal. The cow has been in intimate contact with its environment. It has a wider variety of exposures too much harsher conditions than humans do.
