Codelco Lab, the Codelco subsidiary in charge of accelerating innovation projects on new uses of copper, reached an agreement with the Cow Guard® brand, which has developed innovative copper products for the protection of the bovine teat and animal welfare.

On January 14, Codelco Lab entered into an alliance with Biogenesis Animal Health, which has developed Cow Guard®, a line of topical products with copper particles that are applied to the  cows’ udder throughout the dairy production cycle, preventing diseases. This is the first time that a mining company and the dairy industry have joined forces to work with the bactericidal properties of copper.

Biogenesis Animal Health developed a protective gel with copper particles that prevents the entry of pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi into the sphincter of the bovine nipple, thus preventing them from reaching the mammary gland and causing mastitis.

This disease is the cause of the greatest economic losses in the dairy industry, with worldwide losses estimated at 35 billion dollars a year.

As a result, the executive director of Codelco Lab, Eduardo Foix, said that they were impressed with this innovative product, adding that it is a solution that will really impact the dairy industry nationally and globally.

Since 2012, and thanks to the sponsorship of the Agricultural Innovation Fund, the scientific studies of this product have been in charge of the INTA Microbiological Laboratory, belonging to the University of Chile, and have been carried out in the central and southern part of the country.

The tests of Cow Guard® products showed improvements in the general condition of the skin, preventing the entry of pathogens into the mammary gland and collaborating significantly in the milking routine. In addition, the application of these products does not transmit copper to the milk produced by the cows, which demonstrates the total safety of Cow Guard® products in public health.

It should be noted that the gel is the only one with scientific studies, patent approved and authorized by the SAG to be distributed as a cosmetic product in PABCO farms; that is, in those animal farms under official certification granted by the Agriculture and Livestock Service.

Source: https://www.biobiochile.cl/