Manuka honey hits sweet spot on cows

Chadwick is responsible for developing formulations for GEA’s FIL brand in farm dairy hygiene and teat care products. The company says it has increasingly used manuka honey in teat care formulations in recent years and “this has put it at the cutting edge of new formulations in a market that had seen little change for many years”. 

It also has FIL running alongside the human health care sector in its recognition of manuka honey’s healing properties, the company says.

GEA’s latest FIL teat care product launched this spring also features manuka honey. The new Teatshield Active is the only chlorhexidine-based teat spray on the market containing manuka honey offering farmers an alternative to iodine based sprays.  

For farmers who choose not to use Iodoshield Active due to it being iodine based, Teatshield Active is a premium teat care formulation containing manuka honey and based on Chlorhexidine. The product has an emollient matrix that helps condition and restore teats. It has a green food grade dye to help identify sprayed cows.

FIL’s manuka honey teat care products first appeared six years ago with Iodoshield Active, prior to Chadwick arriving from his position as product development manager with Comvita honey based products. 

FIL had by then worked for four years on Iodoshield Active teat spray, and developed some patented technology that overcame the difficulties of combining honey into an iodine based product. The manuka honey helped ensure the antibacterial iodine base adheres to the teat surface longer.

Other products include a teat cream containing manuka honey – Active Teat Cream – for soothing cracked dairy cow teats. And it helps farmers’ hands. 

Says Chadwick, “There is the real possibility for manuka honey to be applied across other areas of animal husbandry and wound care.” Users have reported using the cream on cuts and abrasions with great healing results.

www.fea-farmtechnologies.co.nz