Grass-Fed Collagen

[Email from Mark 03/08/2023]

A lot of companies state “100% grass fed” which is very difficult to guarantee, I have met with collagen producers and even they tell me it is possible but unlikely.

For example, Planet Paleo state that their collagen is from cows that are “free range and eating grass as their main source of food” which implies that they are not necessarily 100% grass-fed. I am not aware of cows that are raised like battery chickens (indoors), cows are naturally kept in fields and graze, they are given shelter when necessary and food is supplemented with hay or other grain feeds when needed. I think it is more of how you word it or market it. I would also argue that a lot of South American cows (where Planet Paleo get their collagen from) are raised on land that was once rainforest and has been cleared to make pasture, so not necessarily the best source. Collagen comes from the bones, skins and connective tissues of animals (as does gelatin), in this case it is obviously a by-product of beef farming and many farms will supply the big producers, so it will be multiple source farms and difficult to testify that something is 100% one way or the other, as our supplier noted below. The Peptan bovine collagen we buy comes from a French manufacturer (Rousselot) via Salutivia who responded below.

Due to the scale of the supply chain, it is difficult to guarantee that all animals will be fed only by means of grass and pasture raised.

It is feasible that at some point, the animals will be fed using grain.

For this reason, it is difficult for the large Collagen manufacturers to only guarantee grass-fed, pasture raised cows.

The animals will be fed in accordance to EU regulations; but I can’t supply a statement of adherence to 100% grass-fed, pasture raised

On the Peptan website they state:

Strict selection of raw materials and suppliers Peptan is manufactured from bovine, fish or porcine collagen. At Rousselot, we take the utmost care with the selection of our materials as well as our raw material suppliers and submitting them to our strict quality control programs. We set high standards for sustainability and source using predominantly ASC certified fisheries and grass fed cattle for our Peptan production. So they are saying it is grass-fed. Also they state:

The highest international quality standards As a trusted partner of major food and pharmaceutical manufacturers around the world, we appreciate the importance of quality and safety like no other. At our state-of-the-art, certified plants in France and Brazil, our constant focus is on ensuring the complete safety of every product and process we are responsible for. Our plants are HACCP and ISO9001 certified meeting the highest international quality standards. We ensure full traceability throughout every step of our production process. Our premium collagen peptides are 100% natural, safe and free from any preservatives or additives

It is a bit of a minefield with contrary data and lots of “creative marketing”. The only thing we can do is be as open and transparent as possible and let our customers decide what they want to put on their labels.