Phospholipids are among the most valuable compounds in dairy and marine ingredients, clinically proven to help manage the effects of stress and improve focus. They are found in high concentrations in our brains, and in krill oil and green-lipped mussels. In milk, dairy phospholipids support very important biological activities – including neural development in infants.

New Zealand has the only accredited NMR phospolipid profiling test in the Asia Pacific region

For a long time, accurately measuring phospholipids was extremely difficult.

Standard testing methods struggle to accurately quantify individual phospholipid classes. This is a big problem when the composition of those compounds determines a product's health properties and its commercial value. Scientists in New Zealand developed a new approach using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to identify and reliably quantify individual phospholipid classes in enriched dairy ingredients.

The result is the only accredited NMR phospholipid profiling test in the Asia-Pacific region. Accreditation under IANZ (New Zealand's International Accreditation New Zealand body) means results are internationally recognised for the dairy industry.

The method is now used for routine testing of milk phospholipids for several New Zealand dairy companies in high-value dairy products, including infant formula.  The same technique is applied across a wide range of New Zealand-manufactured products, including krill oil and green-lipped mussel extracts and powders. Formal accreditation for marine phospholipid testing is the next step.