Osteoblast milk protein (OMP, ) is the name used by
Mengniu
Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Limited by Share Ltd. () is a Chinese manufacturing and distribution company of dairy products and ice cream. The company is headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia and manufactures dairy products under the '' ...
, a Chinese dairy company, for a
milk protein
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutri ...
used as a
food additive
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives, such as vinegar ( pickling), salt ( salting), smoke ( smoking) and sugar ( crystallization), have been used f ...
in their Milk Deluxe () since 2005.
It is supposed to help the absorption of
calcium
Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
and promote
bone growth
Ossification (also called osteogenesis or bone mineralization) in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells named osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. There are two processes resulting in the ...
in the
osteoblast
Osteoblasts (from the Greek combining forms for " bone", ὀστέο-, ''osteo-'' and βλαστάνω, ''blastanō'' "germinate") are cells with a single nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the process of bone formation, osteoblasts fu ...
s and prevent
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in Bone fracture, fracture risk.
It is the most common reason f ...
.
In February 2009, the safety of OMP was questioned by the
(AQSIQ), national quality supervision department in China, when they were doing a general clean-up on the use of food additives after the
2008 Chinese milk scandal
The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a significant food safety incident in China. The scandal involved Sanlu Group's milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with the chemical melamine, which resu ...
where
melamine
Melamine is an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6. This white solid is a trimer (chemistry), trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-Triazine, 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 66% nitrogen by mass, and its derivatives ha ...
was found in some milk products.
Mengniu stopped adding OMP to its milk on February 2 after a government order, but did not recall products already on the market.
On February 13 the
Ministry of Health stated that OMP is "not harmful to human health",
but the ban on its use stayed in place because the importer had not submitted the necessary paperwork.
The raw ingredients for OMP were imported from the
Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company in New Zealand
via
Shanghai Tongyuan Food Technology Co. Ltd. ().
[, translation fro]
Mengniu first stated that the major active ingredient in OMP is
Insulin-like growth factor 1
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in tertiary structure, molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has Anabolism, anabolic effects in adults. In the ...
(IGF-1), but later denied adding IGF-1 and said that OMP is the same as
Milk Basic Protein (MBP). IGF-1 could possibly cause
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
in extreme doses.
The company claimed that the additive is widely used in Europe, the United States and Japan, and had been certified by the
New Zealand Food Safety Authority and the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
(FDA). However it turned out that the FDA letter
referred to a perhaps different additive used by the Japanese
Snow Brand Milk Products Company. A director of the
Guangdong Dairy Industry Association
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
said that OMP is seldom used in milk products overseas and no conclusion about the impact of OMP on human health has been proven globally. The association may contest any official declaration from the Ministry of Health that OMP is safe.
According to Mengniu and the Ministry of Health, OMP is made from milk by degreasing by
skimming and
membrane filtration and its major components are
lactoferrin
Lactoferrin (LF), also known as lactotransferrin (LTF), is a multifunctional protein of the transferrin family. Lactoferrin is a globular proteins, globular glycoprotein with a molecular mass of about 80 Atomic mass unit, kDa that is widely repre ...
and
lactoperoxidase
Lactoperoxidase (LPO, ) is a peroxidase enzyme secreted from mammary, salivary, tears and other mucosal glands including the lungs, bronchii and nose that function as a natural, first line of defense against bacteria and viral agents. Lactoperox ...
.
References
{{reflist
Food additives
Milk
Health in China
Food safety