Colostrum Colostrum Colostrum (known colloquially as beestings, bisnings or first milk) is the first form of milk produced by the mammary glands of mammals (including many humans) immediately following delivery of the newborn. Most species will generate colostrum just prior to giving birth. Colostrum contains antibodies to protect the newborn against disease. In general, protein concentration in colostrum is substantially higher than in milk. Fat concentration is substantially higher in colostrum than in milk in some species, e.g. sheep and horses, but lower in colostrum than in milk in some other species, e.g. camels and humans. In swine, fat concentration of
Milk of cattle and buffalo milk in the world. In food use, from 1961, the term "milk" has been defined under Codex Alimentarius standards as: "the normal mammary secretion of milking animals obtained from one or more milkings without either addition to it or extraction from it, intended for consumption as liquid milk or for further processing." The term "dairy" relates to animal milk and animal milk production. A substance secreted by pigeons to feed their young is called "crop milk" and bears some resemblance to mammalian milk, although it is not consumed as a milk substitute. The definition above precludes