Frequently Asked Questions
At Capricare®, we understand parents and healthcare professionals have many questions about our products. To help you make informed choices, we’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions about our whole goat milk formula. If there is anything else you want to know, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Capricare® is a goat milk-based infant formula made from whole goat milk. It’s a nutritionally complete formula developed to support babies from birth, using a gentler source of dairy that’s naturally rich in essential nutrients.
Capricare® is made by Dairy Goat Co-operative, the pioneer and world leader of goat milk infant formulas. Dairy Goat Co-operative is based in New Zealand and owned by the farmers who supply the milk. Their farms are on some of New Zealand’s richest pastures.
Goat milk infant formula was first used in New Zealand and Australia over 30 years ago. Capricare® is made by Dairy Goat Co-operative, the pioneer and inventor of goat milk infant formula.
Our milk comes from well-fed goats that are raised in healthy conditions. The milk is then treated gently throughout the infant formula process. The result is a smooth and mild tasting infant formula.
Capricare is made from the natural goodness of whole goat milk, that is gently made, protecting the essential nutrients.
Make sure to prepare the bottle just before feeding your baby, following these steps:
The best way is to gradually replace one formula with another over 3-7 days. Start by replacing one scoop of your current formula with Capricare® when making up the bottle. After 1 or 2 days replace another of the scoops with Capricare®, until eventually all the scoops are from Capricare®.
The number of scoops per feed and feeds per day are determined based on meeting nutrient requirements for the infants' age and stage. Capricare feeding recommendations are a guide to help ensure infants receive appropriate nutrients based on scoops per feed and feed per day.
Due to the similar proteins in cow and goat’s milk, goat milk formula cannot be recommended to infants with a diagnosed cow milk allergy (IgE).
However, because the amount of key allergenic proteins (β-lactoglobulin and αS1-casein) is much lower in Capricare ® whole goat milk formula, with no A1 beta-casein protein, many parents find it to be a gentler option for babies with cow milk intolerance (not allergy).
Stage 2 is higher in several micronutrients, including vitamin D, folic acid, calcium and iron. Daily nutrient needs increase with age, and some of these increased nutrient requirements are sometimes difficult to meet as infants transition to solid foods. The levels in our Stage 2 formula have been optimized to meet additional needs.
Yes, Capricare® products are gluten-free. They are manufactured in a facility that does not handle products containing gluten, and allergens are third-party tested in accordance with regulatory standards.
Whole goat milk has unique features that make it more similar to breastmilk, including:
A co-operative is a business owned and operated by its members (in our case, the farmers), who work together for shared success. Unlike corporations, profits are reinvested into the business and shared among farmer-members. This ensures quality, integrity, and long-term sustainability over short-term profits.
The goats are sheltered using open-sided barns that allow exposure to natural lighting and fresh air. Space is provided to allow goats to move freely or lie down. Goats are given free access to their food.
The use of all drugs, including antibiotics, is highly regulated in New Zealand where Capricare® is made. Antibiotics are used in some exceptional circumstances to treat infections. In this case all milk collected during the treatment period and several days after treatment is discarded. Milk is routinely tested at each delivery to ensure it is free from antibiotic residues.
We test for heavy metals, antibiotic and mycotoxin residues, pesticides, and yeasts,moulds, and bacteria. We also test for foreign materials (e.g. plastic, glass, metal) and plasticizers to ensure the highest quality formula on the market.
A GMO-free formula is made without genetically modified organisms. This means none of the ingredients are derived from crops or animals that have been genetically altered in a lab, offering peace of mind to parents seeking more natural feeding options.
Lactose is the main carbohydrate found in breast milk — it’s a key source of energy for babies and helps support the growth of healthy gut bacteria and as such is required by Health Canada to be included in infant formulas. Because goat milk doesn’t naturally have enough lactose on its own to meet a baby’s needs, we add a purified lactose to bring it up to the levels required in infant formula.
The lactose we use is derived from cow milk, which is chemically identical to human and goat milk lactose. Only the lactose (the carbohydrate) is used — all cow milk proteins and other components are removed during processing. These proteins are what typically cause allergic reactions in babies, not lactose itself, so the added lactose does not increase allergy risk.
However, it’s important to note that due to potential cross-reactivity between proteins in cow and goat milk, goat milk formula cannot be recommended to infants with a diagnosed cow milk allergy (IgE).
Probiotics are living bacteria that when added to food/supplements must be done so in sufficient quantities to survive transit through the gut and deliver a health benefit. In contrast, prebiotics, such as oligosaccharides, play an important role in feeding the bacteria in the gut. Whole goat milk contains naturally higher levels of oligosaccharides, a prebiotic, when compared to cow milk. Whole goat milk, such as Capricare®, has been shown to deliver health benefits, such as a greater reduction in regurgitation and easier digestion, compared to cow milk, and has been shown to have a bifidogenic effect, without the need for probiotics.
Capricare® uses natural whole goat milk fats as a base, which reduces the amount of added vegetable oils needed. However, to meet babies’ needs of essential fatty acids it is necessary to add some Omega-6 and Omega-3 rich vegetable oils, in our case canola and sunflower oils from non-GMO sources. The Omega-6 fatty acid LA (linoleic acid) is essential in infant formula for the necessary immune and inflammatory system development to fight infections. The Omega-3 fatty acid ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is another essential fatty acid and is a precursor of the long-chain Omega-3 fatty acid DHA, which supports brain development.
Canola and soy are the most abundant sources of LA. Capricare® chose canola because soy is a known allergen. Capricare® canola oil is non-GMO (canola is a rapeseed hybrid plant bred to be safer with lower levels of erucic acid & glucosinolates). Canola is also a source of omega-3 ALA.
Capricare® has no added palm oil.
Beta-casein is a protein found in milk, and there are two key genetic variants of beta-casein: A1-type and A2-type.
Regular cow’s milk typically contains a mix of both A1 and A2 types of beta casein. Goat’s milk beta-casein is only A2 type and is naturally free of A1 type beta-casein—just like human breastmilk (also only A2 type, no A1 type).
Being A1 or A2 type beta-casein has implications for digestive health because A1 type beta-casein can cause digestive comfort and increased gut inflammation, and it can lead to slowed gut motility, which increases the time for gut microbes to ferment lactose in the milk and cause symptoms (eg. gas and tummy discomfort). With A2 type beta-casein does not cause this digestive comfort, and everything moves faster through the gut, and the gut bacteria have less time to ferment lactose and produce symptoms.