Media Room: Press Releases

Jul 26th, 2010

CoolStance copra meal - The Facts

An article has been circulated by Equine Nutrition Australia, who manufactures feeds such as Weight Lifter by someone Tamara Fein about the coconut industry and in particular copra meal. The paper was entitled “Copra meal and its dangers – the truth”.

Our company Stance started importing and commercially feeding of copra meal to  cattle, sheep and horses in Australia in 1984. We undertook a large number of scientifically controlled experiments to identify and confirm the unique nutritional benefits of copra meal. These experiments have been published in the scientific press.  Copra meal is now a major supplementary feed used in the cattle industry throughout Australia, and has contributed to the lift in the both fertility rates, increased growth rates and improved productivity. Copra meal has also been fed for over 20 years to horses under the brand name Cool Fuel, which has been rebranded as CoolStance copra.

Stance exists because we seek, uncover and share solutions that give life a natural advantage. Our products are based on scientific understanding. We stand behind our products.

The same tired old arguments presented by Equine Nutrition Australia are recycled every five years by new chums who suddenly think they have discovered something new. Correct, horses don’t climb coconut trees. They also don’t graze in sugar cane crops, and they don’t shoe their own hooves. They dont have to! Horses also cant read, which is lucky for them as they don’t have to put up with this type of misinformed, biased information.  Horses can however tell us about how feeds and feeding practices affect them.   Horses have been fed CoolStance copra for over 20 years, and they tell us that CoolStance provides them the natural advantage!

The following are established facts.

1.         Copra meal is produced from the white meat of the coconut during the extraction of coconut oil. The coconut industry was established by the British, and up until the Second Would War, coconut oil was the most used oil for human consumption throughout the world. With the Japanese invasion of the major coconut oil producing countries during WWII, coconut oil was unavailable, and hence replaced by soybean and corn oil from the USA.

2.         The coconut industry is a vital to third world economies, providing cash flow at the village level.  Coconuts are collected by hand, and so the industry is labour intensive, providing valuable employment.

3.         Coconuts are grown on a wide variety of soil types, and do not require additional inputs of fertiliser, or pesticides.  The white meat inside the coconut is called copra, and this is protected from the environment by the shell and husk until harvest.

4.         The water inside the coconut is so pure, that it was used in the South Pacific during WWII as a source of isotonic saline when the supplies of plasma were running low for the wounded soldiers.  The coconut water was run as a drip directly into their veins...it saved lives! That is why the coconut tree is called the “Tree of Life”

5.         Copra is extracted by hand from the husk and kernel, and dried either using indirect husk fuel driers, or using direct fired driers. The indirect driers produce higher quality copra.

6.         The dried copra is transported to the coconut oil mill, where it is inspected for contamination, and quality, particularly mould according the mill Standard Operating Procedures. Stance has developed SOP’s for its suppliers.

7.         As with all feedstuffs, moulds can occur if the feedstuff is not processed and stored correctly. This is not a new concept, and QA procedures are developed by most of the coconut oil mills to ensure quality of the coconut oil, and hence copra meal is achieved. Hay is the major source of mould for horses.

8.         As with all industries, there are operators with good and poor QA procedures. In developing the copra meal industry in Australia, we have developed QA procedures with those suppliers that are keen to produce value added copra meal. 

9.         Coconut oil is extracted from the copra either mechanically (under heat and pressure) or by a solvent. All the Stance products are based on mechanically expelled copra meal, because this has a higher oil content (8-10%) and no chemicals are involved.

10.       The copra meal is cooled, hammer milled and packaged for export in food grade shipping containers under the strict AQIS guidelines for the importation of plant materials into Australia.

11.       The statements made by Ms Fein about the processing of coconuts and copra meal are simply naive.

12.       The issue referred to in Nelson was never proven to be caused by copra meal.  During the rush to secure meals for the New Zealand dairy industry, the commodity traders considered all copra meal to be of equal value, and shipped low quality copra meal with high aflatoxin content from the Philippines. The action by Fontera was predictable, and entirely necessary. Unfortunately the result was that copra meal was given a bad name in the dairy industry. This always happens when new players enter an industry and look for the quick profit.

13.       Stance is unashamedly the world leader in developing animal feeds based on copra meal and coconut oil. Stance has a testing program, where samples are submitted for nutritional and mycotoxin analysis.  The results from an independent laboratory for mycotoxin testing from copra meal from two suppliers are published on our website www.stanceequine.com.au

14.       CoolStance copra for horses....it works simply because the science and history say it has to!  CoolStance offers the natural advantage.

a.         High NSC horse feeds (ie above 12% NSC) are thought to be one of the major contributors to obesity, and the metabolic disorders in horses. Simply, most horses are being overfed and underworked, and obesity is now a major problem.

b.         NSC is non structural carbohydrate (ie sugar and starch), which is the same as GI in human nutrition. Care should be taken when feeding more than 12% NSC feeds.

c.         CoolStance copra contains 8-10% coconut oil, 20-22% protein, 15 MJ DE/kg dry matter and an NSC of only 11%.  This means that CoolStance copra is the only equine feed that has both a low NSC and a high DE.  Most other low NSC feeds are achieved by diluting out the sugar and starch with a filler.

d.         The low NSC in CoolStance means that the sugar intake is reduced, which in turn reduces the secretion of ulcer causing acids into the stomach.  CoolStance copra therefore avoids ulcers.

e.         The low starch content in CoolStance copra means there is no starch overload into the hindgut, causing acidosis, and hence lameness and laminitis. CoolStance avoids lameness.

f.          Dysbiosis is the term that describes the uncontrolled growth of microorganisms in the small intestines when presented with an oversupply of nutrients, particularly sugar. The growth of these organisms is prolific, and they colonise the epithelial lining in the small intestines, creating “holes” in the intestinal wall. This is referred to as ‘leaky gut syndrome”, which is known to occur in humans. This allows the leakage of glucose, and other compounds into the blood, raising blood sugar levels and overloading the capacity of the horse to regulate blood sugar levels, causing insulin resistance (the same at Type II diabetes in humans).  Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with lameness, laminitis, cushings disease, and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). CoolStance copra contains <11% NSC, and so the flow of sugar into the intestines is low, avoiding dysbiosis.

g.         Coconut oil contains mostly medium chain triglycerides(MCT), which are absorbed directly into the portal blood and provide a ready source of cool energy.

h.         MCT also have antimicrobial attributes, and it is thought that coconut oil acts to preserve gut health by controlling the growth of intestinal microorganisms.

i.          An independent study was recently published in the Australian Equine Science Symposium where horses grazing pasture were given either CoolStance copra, a sweetfeed, or a pelleted horse feed, with NSC levels of 11%, 25% and 30%. Unlike the sweet feed and pelleted feed, CoolStance copra did not increase blood glucose nor insulin in grazing horses above normal levels.

15.       Let your horse be the judge. We suggest you feed CoolStance copra, plus medium quality hay, and minerals and vitamins if you wish. Do not feed high NSC grain based feeds unless your horse is in active work. The observations to feeding Coolstance copra include

a.         Glossy coat, mane and tail

b.         Provides Cool Energy for most levels of performance

c.         Cool, calm and collected

d.         Weight gain and improved body condition

e.         Maintains gut health and insulin sensitivity

f.          Avoids lameness and laminitis

g.         Can be fed to IR and cushings horses

h.         Avoids tying up, and leg and bone problems.

i.          Reduces ulcers

j.          Reduces greasy heal/ scratches

16.       CoolStance copra works simply because the science has to. There is no magic. It is safe, simple and easy to feed. It is time tested and proven.

17.       CoolStance copra, and all the Stance Equine products gives your horse the natural advantage.

For further information see www.stanceequine.com.au