Seven Collagen Myths: Stop Passing on Misinformation

Collagen products on the market are dazzlingly varied, so how do you choose one you can trust? I am Kuo Hsu-ying, a veterinarian and founder of You Xin Meat Shop. I hope to use a veterinary professional perspective to examine the raw material sources and manufacturing processes of commercially sold collagen, remind the public to consider more different angles, and I also welcome you to explore this topic together in depth.

Myth 1: Are all chemical additives illegal and bad?

Veterinarian's answer:Wrong. To become a commercially sold product, the chemical additives used are all legal; I just do not encourage eating them!

To improve the overall taste, commercially sold collagen adds various artificial flavors (such as fruit flavors, fruit acids, pectin, food coloring, sweeteners, etc.). These are scientifically verified and legally added, but I do not encourage consuming them. I would choose collagen whose manufacturing process does not add strong acids, strong bases, chemical enzymes and other additives. Everyone can choose what they need according to their own requirements.

Myth 2: Do all imported collagens require quarantine certificates?

Veterinarian's answer:Wrong. Not all animal products must pass quarantine!

In the Bureau of Foreign Trade's "Goods Import and Export Regulations Query" list, there is no name "collagen"; there is only "gelatin" or "animal glue." Its competent authority is the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and it only needs relevant inspections under the "Regulations Governing Inspection of Imported Food and Related Products." No quarantine is required at all.

Myth 3: Is imported collagen from areas not affected by mad cow disease?

Veterinarian's answer:Possibly, because cattle hides and hide-derived gelatin and collagen from mad cow disease areas can be legally imported!

For food intended for import into our country made from the slaughtered meat, tissues, organs or derivatives of cattle and sheep raised for food in countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) occurs, handling must follow the "Implementation Regulations for Systematic Inspection of Imported Food." However, cattle hides and hide-derived gelatin and collagen are not regulated by these rules, require no quarantine, and can be legally imported as long as they comply with the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Myth 4: Does hydrolyzed collagen need to be chemically extracted at low temperature (below 85°C)?

Veterinarian's answer:Correct, but the process for room-temperature collagen has long exceeded 120°C, so it cannot be called "hydrolyzed collagen"!

Most collagen is extracted by biotechnology and then made into hydrolyzed collagen through hydrolysis technology. But to store it at room temperature, the final product instead uses pre-sterilization (Note 1) or post-sterilization (Note 2), with process temperatures as high as above 120°C, which has long destroyed the original bonds of the collagen (Note 3)! In that case, can the product still be called "hydrolyzed collagen"?

※Note 1: Ultra-high-temperature flash sterilization, at 120-130°C for 2-5 seconds.
※Note 2: High-temperature high-pressure sterilization, at 121°C and 1.5 atmospheres for 15 minutes.
※Note 3: Temperatures above 85°C will destroy the bonds of hydrolyzed collagen, breaking it into three peptide chains.

Myth 5: Is hydrolyzed collagen more easily absorbed by the human body?

Veterinarian's answer:Correct, but after eating it, its molecular size only affects how quickly it is absorbed!

After collagen is swallowed, it is all broken down by stomach acid into amino acids and peptides; this is the normal digestive process the human body should have. Hydrolyzed collagen has smaller molecules and is absorbed faster, while larger-molecule collagen is absorbed more slowly, yet it can likewise be absorbed by the human body. If the human body could not break down collagen, that would be a serious disorder. But regardless of large- or small-molecule collagen, the benefits that can be absorbed depend on each person's constitution.

Myth 6: Is additive-free collagen just chicken feet jelly?

Veterinarian's answer:Wrong. Additive-free collagen is a concentrated, refined collagen essence!

Additive-free collagen drink uses native chickens in Taiwan that have passed traceability certification, taking their feet, combs, wings and skin as raw materials, and using the traditional clay-jar drip method for 8 hours, concentrated without adding water or other additives throughout the process. From ancient times to the present, during confinement after childbirth, people often eat pig trotters and chicken feet to supplement collagen. With a collagen essence refined from real food, besides collagen, the other active components still await scientific research, but additive-free collagen drink precisely follows the "traditional food therapy concept"; its effects may be slow, but it is another purely natural choice.

Myth 7: Is it very easy to fake traceability-certified agricultural products?

Veterinarian's answer:Wrong. This is the only traceable label in all of Taiwan certified by the Council of Agriculture, and it is absolutely impossible to fake; on the contrary, it is extremely rigorous.

Traceability certification is a verification jointly promoted by the Council of Agriculture and TAF international certification bodies, hoping that agricultural products can be traced through the entire process. Every step of the product process (farm, slaughterhouse and processing plant) requires verification and records, thereby eliminating any room for fraud. Each package of product has an ID; just scan the Qrcode sticker and you can track all information from place of origin to dining table. Seeing is believing, and only then can you eat with peace of mind!
Because we have entered the industrial era, if livestock products are to achieve this certification, besides involving raising, they also need to consider slaughter, cutting and processing procedures. At present, large slaughterhouses receive sources from multiple farms every day, with a daily slaughter volume of more than 100,000 birds, so it is truly difficult to achieve the batch-by-batch slaughter and cutting required by traceability certification. Therefore, in Taiwan no one had been willing to do traceability certification for native chickens. It was not until after the 102nd year of the Republic of China that we and our industry chain partners joined in, producing traceability-certified native chickens and collagen drink products.