MannaPro® Kid Goat Milk Replacer - Part 1. Product testing.
MannaPro® Kid Goat Milk Replacer is one of many specialized substitute milk formulas produced by Manna Pro Products, LLC. Formed in1985, and as the successor to Carnation Company Milling Division, the company has deep roots and connections to some of the feed industries pioneers, with a 178-year history of manufacturing and marketing diversified animal feed. The company produces many feed products for the livestock and domestic animal market. MannaPro® Kid Goat Milk Replacer is a cow-milk based product. It also contains probiotics for goat kids, delivered through a blend of natural ingredients that include both contents of yeast cells and probiotic bacteria. The company indicates this combination of ingredients help control harmful bacteria and support the population of good bacteria in the digestive tract. This article (Part 1) discusses independent lab test results as well as WildAgain's in-house product performance testing on physical properties, measurement and reconstitution. Part 2 discusses and offers suggestions on the product to rehabilitators considering its use for wildlife species (PDF).
Summary
A critical challenge facing mammal wildlife rehabilitators is providing a suitable substitute milk replacer to feed orphaned, nursing wildlife. The task involves understanding the composition of the mother's milk; then using one or more commercially available milk replacers (generally in powdered form) to construct a recipe that matches the mother's milk; and then preparing the formula to achieve a properly reconstituted formula. Rehabilitators are generally limited to milk replacers commercially available for domestic animals (companion and livestock) that may individually provide a close match to certain wildlife species milk, or used in combination with other products to blend a formula composition that is a closer match to a particular species.
Part 1. This analysis provides the chemical analysis of MannaPro® Kid Goat Milk Replacer and some of its primary formula preparation performance characteristics such as measurement and reconstitution. It does not assess how the new product will perform when fed to orphaned wildlife in rehabilitation, though some of the information certainly can be used with decisions and use.
Part 2. An accompanying article discusses some of these test results and offers some suggestions that wildlife rehabilitators may consider when evaluating the product for use with wild animal species.
The following list highlights some of the key findings prior to a more detailed presentation of test results and analysis.
√ Ingredients. This product has a fairly simple formulation of whey protein and animal fat. Fermentation products (probiotics) are included in the form of an added product known as Opti-Gut™ which is explained more in Part 2.
√ Proximate analysis. The product exceeds the customary moisture content of no more 5% by greater than 2 times at almost 12%. Overall ash is almost 8% which is more than found in other powered milk replacers.
√ Ash. As for dietary minerals, calcium and phosphorus tested at 1.11% and .82% respectively. These concentrations are in line with or above those of most cow's-milk based products
√ Fatty Acids. The product has one of the highest percentages of saturated fats (>50%) of any of the other milk replacer tested by WildAgain. The corresponding and relatively low concentration of unsaturated fats should enhance shelf-stability.
√ Rancidity. Assuming an 24-month life, the sample tested was from a newly purchased, unopened container and was ≈700 days post-manufacturing (≈ around 95% in to its shelf life). The peroxide value tested at 'not-detected' which is obviously well within established guidelines for edible oils of <10. Although just a single sample, this does suggest that the product has excellent shelf-stability.
√ Physical characteristics. Powder is fine textured and non-sticky. Measuring powder by volume or parts rather than weighing produced error rates of +2 to -5% from the calculated average 8.3 gram/Tbsp weight of the product.
√ Reconstitution (wetting and sinking). When correctly adding powder to warm water, the product showed excellent wetting performance, with the test sample >95% wetted and sinking in <5 minutes.
√ Reconstitution (dispersal and dissolution). Hand stirring/whisking for 5 minutes produced a smooth, milky liquid that appeared free of any remaining dry powder. The reconstitution tests showed that when prepared for an immediate use, only 0.7% of the powder remained trapped by the three sieves. While this is relatively outstanding when compared to other milk replacers, an 8-hour resting period from preparation (mixing) to final use (feeding) improved final reconstitution by ≈60% with only 0.3% of the powder not fully reconstituted. This is outstanding performance compared to the other milk replacer products, especially those that are cow-milk based.
Ingredients (as listed on the package label)
The following table indicates the product ingredients as listed on the package label. The Primary Ingredients listed indicate a cow-based formulation which recombines previously separated milk fractions. Fat is provided through the addition of animal fat, which is nonspecific as to the type of animal or the quality of the fat.
The list of Secondary Ingredients shows many of the typical vitamins and minerals found in other commercial milk replacer products.
The label does include the addition of supplemental probiotics, commonly found in other milk replacers.
Proximate analysis
The following table shows the results of the proximate analysis performed by the lab as compared to the Guaranteed Analysis. The level of total protein+fat+ash is ≈57%, well below other milk replacers used for wildlife in the ≈75-80% range. This results in carbohydrates >30%, about twice the concentration of other replacers used for wildlife. This will likely make it difficult to use as a primary base for a wildlife formula recipe. The red shaded values indicate where the lab analysis determined that the component concentrations deviated from the typical values by 15% or more. [While the moisture content is not guaranteed, most other powdered milk replacers generally carry a moisture guarantee of no more than 5%. This analysis indicates this product is more than 2x that level of moisture.]
Based on the tested values, the metabolizable energy content (ME Kcals) of the MannaPro Kid Goat Milk Replacer equals 4.50 per gram of dry powder. This is significantly lower than most other replacers, due primarily to the relatively low fat content.
Ash - dietary minerals
The following table shows the results of the dietary mineral analysis performed by the lab. The product tested in line with other milk replacers for Calcium (generally >1.0%) and within range of Phosphorus in other products. The Ca:P appears to be within acceptable range at 1.35. The overall ash value (all minerals) at 7.71% is relatively high when compared to other powdered milk replacers.
Fatty acid profile
The fatty acid profile of the product is shown below. The overall percent of fat in the product (Saturated - 65%; Monounsaturated - 36%; and Polyunsaturated - 12%) is very similar to the typical milk profile (Saturated - 65%; Monounsaturated - 32%; and Polyunsaturated - 3%).
The low concentrations of C:8 and C:10 would not be well suited for wildlife formula recipes where MCT concentrations have found to be significantly higher, such as in rabbits and hares. See Part 2 of this article for a longer discussion of MCT values for rabbit milk.
Peroxide Value (PV) test results
Assuming a common 24-month life for the Kid Goat Milk Replacer, the sample tested was from a newly purchased, unopened container and was ≈700 days post-manufacturing (≈ around 95% in to its shelf life). The peroxide value tested at 'not-detected' which is obviously well within established guidelines for edible oils of <10. Although just a single sample, this does suggest that the product has excellent shelf-stability.
As with any milk replacer proper storage is critical especially for high fat content products. The label indicates to store the product in a cool, dry place. Though not specified, storage of the air tight container under refrigeration should be assumed to prevent the onset and progression of rancidity.
Physical characteristics and measurement error [tests performed by WildAgain]
The product has a very fine, non-sticky consistency - similar to Fox Valley powdered milk replacers. This fine-textured physical property still provides challenges when measuring a given amount of powder to include in a formula recipe. Mixing by parts using the provided scoop or some other volume measure results in measurement error ranging from +2.4% to -4.8% in the product. Weighing the powder eliminates this unnecessary user induced error, provides for a uniform formula at each mixing and preparation (Mixing Guide), and helps insure consistent nutrition in the formula.
Reconstitution tests - wetting and sinking [tests performed by WildAgain]
The following image shows the results of the wetting and sinking performance of the product. As shown in the image, when correctly adding powder to warm water, the product showed excellent wetting performance, with the test sample almost completely wetted in <5 minutes. There did appear to be a thin layer of fat on the surface which is most likely some of the undispersed but wetted animal fat.
Reconstitution tests - dispersal [tests performed by WildAgain] and observed results
Hand stirring/whisking for 1 minute resulted in a smooth and white milky liquid formula. Whisking continued for a full 5 minutes to help with a complete dispersal. The liquid appeared visibly free of any remaining dry powder.
The reconstitution tests showed that when prepared for an immediate use, only .7% of the powder remained trapped by the three sieves. While this is outstanding performance when compared to other milk replacers, an 8-hour resting period from preparation (mixing) to final use (feeding) improved final reconstitution by almost 60% with only .3% of the powder not fully reconstituted. This is outstanding performance compared to the other milk replacer products, especially those that are cow-milk based. This is likely due to whey-based formulation which is much easier to reconstitute than a typical cow based milk with ≈80% of the protein sourced from casein.
Following the chart below is a visual presentation of how MannaPro® Kid Goat performed when poured through the stack of sieves. They are presented in order of the largest mesh sieve to the smallest.
"What's it all mean?"
See Part 2 for analysis, discussion and impressions of MannaPro® Kid Goat Milk Replacer and its potential use with wild mammal species, including cottontails and tree squirrels.
References
Grummer, R.R. 1991. Effect of Feed on the Composition of Milk Fat. Journal of Dairy Sci 1991 Sep;74(9):3244-57. PMID: 1779073. DOI: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(91)78510-X
“…Typical milk fat from a dairy cow is approximately 5% Polyunsaturated FA; 70% Saturated FA; and 25% Monounsaturated FA…”
Soyeurt, H.; P. Dardenne; F. Dehareng; G. Lognay; D. Veselko; M. Marlier; C. Bertozzi; P. Mayeres; and N. Gengler. 2006. Estimating Fatty Acid Content in Cow Milk Using Mid-Infrared Spectrometry.
J. Dairy Sci. 89:3690–3695.
Disclosures
MannaPro® Kid Goat Milk Replacer is manufactured and sold for a substitute milk replacer for kid goats. Wildlife rehabilitation is considered an on-label use.
Product assays performed by the independent lab adhere to the Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC INTERNATIONAL (Association of Official Analytical Chemists) and the Official Methods and Recommended Practices of the AOCS (American Oil Chemists Society).
The authors have no conflicts of interest with the independent lab, or any of the products or manufacturers discussed in this article.