Cathy you wrote, "(Interestingly though bovine lactoferrin in infant formula
does not result in the high level of bifidobacterial common in breastfed
infants--as we all know!)"

I had to comment because of my interest in this area and this does not negate
what you have posted.  The dairy industry, the supplement industry, and the
infant formula industry seem to be calling lactoferrin, bovine lactoferrin.
I find this very interesting. UC at Davis magazine wrote an article in regard
to the research Bo Lonnerdal (one of your references is from his research) is
doing there and let me quote it:
http://www-ucdavismag.ucdavis.edu/current/feature_1.html

"Lactoferrin is so potent that it is a likely candidate to be added to baby
formula, Lonnerdal says. But finding sufficient supplies of this human milk
compound, which is almost nonexistent in cow's milk, has been a challenge
until now.Lonnerdal turned to a seemingly unlikely colleague, UC Davis plant
geneticist Raymond Rodriguez, to help develop a source of lactoferrin.
Rodriguez, who for years has studied the genetics of rice and barley, was
able to insert the gene for human lactoferrin into rice, developing rice
plants that produce lactoferrin in the mature grain.The lactoferrin-rich rice
is similar to the much publicized "golden rice," genetically engineered to
contain elevated levels of vitamin A. But rather than the yellowish color of
golden rice, this rice is pink, due to the extra iron bound by the
lactoferrin."

Lactoferrin in cow's according to Lonnerdal is virtually nonexistent!! So any
formula that is getting lactoferrin in it means either: a) that the bovine
lactoferrin is genetically engineered or b) that the lactoferrin is human.
Since we now know about transgenic cows and that industry, the evidence seems
to point towards genetically engineered human lactoferrin.

Please note the color change that happens, it turns pink.  So again when
people are using their new human milk fortifers for premies and they have
noticed the pink color one might suspect that it is this substance that is
making the color change.

DMV, a large dairy industry in the Netherlands, was requesting GRAS status
for bovine lactoferrin.  The FDA in a letter to this company has changed the
request from bovine lactoferrin to calling it "milk-derived" lactoferrin.  I
suspect the reason for this change has everything to do with the fact that
bovine lactoferrin is really human lactoferrin made by cows--transgenic cows
producing human proteins.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~rdb/opa-g042.html

Lactoferrin not only inactivates bacteria but also viruse and fungi.  There
are quite a few patents on using lactoferrin to inactivate hiv (two infant
formula companies have these patents among various drug companies and
universities).  Might make ya want to question the premise put out by the CDC
that hiv positive women should be discouraged from breastfeeding. Valerie W.
McClain, IBCLC

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html