SHERBROOKE, Quebec, Aug. 03, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- THYMOX™, the breakthrough, botanically-derived disinfectant, announces that Cargill®, through its animal health company Provimi, will be the exclusive distributor for THYMOX foot bath products in the UK and the Europe/Middle East/ Africa (EMEA) regions. The companies have begun the process of registering THYMOX for sale in the UK, with an expected launch early in 2017.
“We are pleased to have Cargill as our commercial partner for the largest dairy cow market in the world. We estimate there to be in excess of 100 million dairy cows in the EMEA region,” said Frank Palantoni, CEO of Laboratoire M2, the makers of THYMOX. “We’re excited to have such a globally recognized partner as Cargill helping us promote this revolutionary, breakthrough hoof treatment that protects dairy cows from digital dermatitis. Highly infectious, digital dermatitis causes lameness and significant productivity losses in dairy farming.”
This agreement comes a few weeks after Laboratoire M2 announced the launch of THYMOX in China. “The expansion of our commercial footprint is on schedule, with a rapidly growing global presence. With activities in European and Asia markets underway, we are now directing our commercial focus on the United States,” Palantoni added.
Until now, the dairy farm industry had little choice but to use foot baths containing heavy metals like copper sulfate. Copper sulfate is difficult to dissolve, toxic, caustic, and does not biodegrade when foot bath waste water is released into the soil. Some European countries, like the Netherlands, have banned its agricultural use because it also acidifies and poisons soil, and is highly toxic to fish. Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and atmospheric pollutant, has also been used in foot baths for decades. THYMOX, in sharp contrast, is biodegradable, non-toxic, and requires only an instantaneous dilution in water, important advantages for dairy industry productivity, and the environment. The effectiveness of THYMOX is based on the action of thymol, an active ingredient found in the plant thyme. THYMOX has strong anti-microbial properties and kills pathogenic microorganisms like treponemes, the main cause of lesions in dairy cows, without harming living tissue.
Prior to the agreement, the companies conducted extensive field testing in the UK to validate THYMOX’s effectiveness in the especially difficult, cold and wet UK winter climate where digital dermatitis is prevalent. “THYMOX has proven to be the ‘green’ alternative to traditional foot bath methods, as it is non-toxic, safe for workers, and environmentally friendly; especially when compared to the hard-to-handle, toxic and carcinogenic alternatives. The widespread use of THYMOX in animal health and agriculture has already saved the environment from poisoning by heavy metals that would otherwise have been washed into the soil. We are proud to bring this environment-saving, humane technology to European markets,” said Palantoni.
About Laboratoire M2
Laboratoire M2, based in Sherbrooke, Canada, has a well-respected reputation for product innovation and expertise in environmentally sustainable, green disinfection and bio-security technology under the trademark THYMOX™. The company currently markets a range of leading biodegradable, disinfecting and anti-microbial products based on their proprietary technology platform, which are environmentally compliant to UL (Ecologo2794) criteria. Its line of animal health products includes THYMOX HOOF® (also sold as THYMOX FOOTBATH) which is used to protect farm animals, specifically dairy cows, from the hoof disease, as an aid in the control of digital dermatitis (DD). There are an estimated 270 million dairy cows worldwide that are susceptible to DD, which produce about $240 billion USD of milk annually. The expanding availability of THYMOX FOOTBATH throughout the global dairy industry offers farmers improved hoof health and enormous productivity savings. Additionally, the use of THYMOX will remove millions of pounds of toxic chemicals from the farm workplace and the environment. THYMOX also distributes products and ingredients under private label agreements in institutional, retail, and crop protection markets.
For more information about Laboratoire M2 visit: thymox.com