What is beef collagen? Beef collagen is collagen that comes from cattle, almost always from bovine hide. On labels it is also called bovine collagen, and in powder form it has been hydrolysed into collagen peptides. It is type 1 collagen, the type found in almost every collagen powder, and it is one of the two raw materials Hūmen works with.
In this article you can read what beef collagen is made from, which type it is, how it gets from hide to powder, how it differs from fish collagen and what to look for when buying it. What beef collagen does in your body is not covered here: a seller in the European Union is not allowed to say anything about that. Why that is, is explained at the bottom.
What is beef collagen? The short answer
Beef collagen is the protein collagen, extracted from the hide of cattle. Collagen is a structural protein that occurs throughout the animal kingdom; beef and fish are the two raw materials most collagen powders are made from. "Beef" therefore says nothing about the kind of collagen, only about the source. What collagen itself is and how it is structured, you can read in what is collagen.
In practice, beef collagen almost always means hydrolysed beef collagen, in other words bovine hide that has been processed into collagen peptides that dissolve in water. The powder in a jar is those peptides, nothing more.
Beef collagen, bovine collagen or rundercollageen: three names
On packaging and in webshops you will come across the same substance under different names:
- Bovine collagen is the international term: bovine means "from cattle". On labels you will often see "hydrolysed bovine collagen" or "bovine collagen peptides". Beef collagen is the everyday name for the same substance.
- Rundercollageen (or runder collageen, with a space) is the Dutch name, which you will see on products sold in the Netherlands and Belgium.
- Collagen (bovine) or collagen hydrolysate (bovine) is how it appears in an ingredients list: the substance, with the source in brackets.
The counterpart is marine collagen or fish collagen: the same protein, but from fish. More on that below.
Which type of collagen is in beef collagen?
Bovine hide mainly contains type 1 collagen, with a smaller share of type 3. Type 1 is the most common of the 28 types described and the type that forms strong fibres. That is why beef collagen is often labelled "type 1" or "type 1 and 3". Both types occur together in the raw material; a producer does not need to separate them and does not do so.
What is not in it: type 2. That is extracted from chicken and sold separately, usually in capsules. A jar of beef collagen with "type 2" on the label is therefore not correct. An overview of all types can be found in types of collagen.
What is beef collagen made from?
The raw material is bovine hide, a by-product of the meat industry. After slaughter, the hide goes to a tannery. There it is split into layers: the top layer becomes leather, the bottom layer (the "split") is too thin for leather and goes to producers of gelatine and collagen. Beef collagen is therefore a way of using a side stream that otherwise has little value.
The producer determines where those hides come from and under which standards they are processed. That is where one jar differs from another. GELITA, a German producer of gelatine and collagen peptides, makes the branded ingredient VERISOL® from bovine hide. Other producers have their own brand names, such as Peptan® from Rousselot. If a jar only says "hydrolysed beef collagen", without a producer, the origin cannot be verified.
How is beef collagen made? From hide to powder
- Pre-treatment. The hide split is washed, degreased and soaked in lime for several weeks. That releases the collagen from the fibre structure.
- Extraction. Warm water brings the collagen into solution. At that point it is gelatine.
- Hydrolysis. Enzymes cut the long gelatine chains into short collagen peptides of 2,000 to 5,000 daltons. As a result, it later dissolves in cold water and does not gel.
- Purification and drying. Filtering, concentrating, sterilising and spray-drying into a fine, white to pale yellow powder.
- Packing. The powder goes to the supplement brand, which puts it into jars, sachets or capsules.
The process is virtually the same for beef and fish; the difference lies in the raw material and the pre-treatment. How hydrolysis works exactly and what a molecular weight in daltons means is explained in hydrolysed collagen.
Beef collagen or fish collagen: the differences at a glance
We are often asked "which is better, beef or fish". The honest answer: these are the differences on the points you can check, and what happens in your body afterwards is not part of the comparison, because we are not allowed to say anything about that.
| Beef collagen | Fish collagen | |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | Bovine hide | Fish skin and fish scales |
| Type | Type 1, with some type 3 | Type 1 |
| Other name | Bovine collagen | Marine collagen |
| Taste and smell | Generally the most neutral | Neutral to a slight taste of its own, depending on the degree of hydrolysis |
| Price per gram | Usually lower | Usually higher |
| Suits | People who eat beef and don't want fish | People who don't eat beef, for example pescatarians |
| Vegetarian or vegan | No | No |
| At Hūmen | Earth, VERISOL® from GELITA (Germany) | Sea, NATICOL® from Weishardt (France) |
So choose based on what you eat, on taste and on price. If you want to try both, you can alternate with us: the dosage and use are the same.
Beef collagen in ordinary food
Beef collagen is also simply found in food, just not in a scoop. Tougher cuts of beef with a lot of connective tissue, such as braising steak and shin, contain collagen that turns into gelatine during long, slow cooking. Beef stock that has simmered for hours becomes syrupy as a result and sets in the fridge: that is gelatine, partially broken-down collagen. And most gelatine in sweets and desserts comes from beef or pork.
How much collagen you get this way cannot be determined; it is not on the packaging and it varies per piece and per preparation. An overview of foods containing collagen can be found in where collagen is found in food.
What to look for in beef collagen
- Producer or branded ingredient on the jar. VERISOL®, Peptan® or another brand name means you know who made it and where. Just "beef collagen" means you don't.
- Type 1. The type that comes from bovine hide. "Type 1 and 3" is also correct; "type 2" does not belong with beef.
- Hydrolysed. Otherwise it won't dissolve. Almost every powder is, but it should be stated on the label.
- Grams per daily serving and servings per jar. 2.5 grams per scoop is something different from 5 or 10 grams. Work out the price per gram, not per jar.
- One ingredient or a blend. Some powders also contain vitamins, flavourings or sweeteners. Not a problem, but then you are not comparing collagen with collagen.
- Production standards and country. ISO 9001 and FSSC 22000 are the common standards; "produced in Europe" can be verified.
- Terms such as grass-fed. These say something about the diet of the cattle, not about the collagen made from them. Useful if that matters to you, but not a measure of the quality of the powder.
Beef collagen from Hūmen: Earth
Our beef collagen is called Earth. It contains one ingredient: VERISOL®, type 1 hydrolysed beef collagen from GELITA in Germany, produced in Europe under ISO 9001 and FSSC 22000. A jar holds 300 grams, enough for 60 servings of 5 grams. The powder has a neutral taste and dissolves in cold and hot drinks. We recommend 10 grams a day for twelve weeks and then 5 grams.
If you prefer fish, choose Sea with NATICOL® from Weishardt. Both can be found under collagen powder. How to stir it into your coffee, tea or smoothie is described in collagen powder in drinks and recipes.
What we don't say about it
No health claims have been approved in the European Union for collagen, whether from beef or from fish. We therefore make no statements about what beef collagen does in your body, nor about whether beef differs from fish in that respect. What we do tell you is where it comes from, what is in it and how to use it. Why those rules exist, you can read in what is a collagen brand actually allowed to promise.
Frequently asked questions about beef collagen
What is beef collagen?
Collagen extracted from bovine hide. It is type 1 collagen, with a smaller share of type 3, and in powder form it has been hydrolysed into collagen peptides that dissolve in water.
Is beef collagen the same as bovine collagen?
Yes. Bovine is the international word for "from cattle". Beef collagen, bovine collagen and the Dutch rundercollageen are the same substance.
What is beef collagen made from?
From bovine hide, a by-product of the meat industry. The bottom layer of the hide, which is too thin for leather, goes to producers of gelatine and collagen and is processed there into collagen peptides.
Which type of collagen is beef collagen?
Type 1, sometimes with type 3. Type 2 does not come from beef but from chicken and is sold separately.
Is beef collagen vegetarian?
No. Beef collagen is an animal product. So is fish collagen. Plant-based collagen does not exist.
What is the difference between beef collagen and fish collagen?
The raw material (bovine hide versus fish skin), the taste (beef is generally the most neutral), the price per gram (beef usually lower) and who it suits (if you don't eat beef, choose fish). Both are type 1 and are processed into powder in the same way. What they do in your body is not something a seller is allowed to compare.
