To address consumer concerns over a change in butter hardness and a resulting finger pointing to feed supplements containing palm byproducts, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) formed a working group of independent experts to develop fact-based explanations for the industry.
In January, the group released an 84-page report of its findings.
“I am proud of the work accomplished by this group,” says Dr. Daniel Lefebvre, chair of the Expert Working Group. “The 13-member Expert Working Group met seven times from March to December 2021 and sought presentations and reports from several outside experts. The group included prominent academics and experts from across Canada, with a diverse range of expertise and worked very hard between these meetings to assemble the information presented in the report.”
Group members specialized in dairy nutrition, animal health, sustainability, food science and human nutrition. The group also included representation from the Consumers’ Association of Canada and participation from dairy processors and farmer group experts.
In addition to a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, the group commissioned two data collection efforts to analyze the fatty acid composition of raw milk and the fatty acid profile and physical properties of retail butter samples.
“We did not find data or information that would support any change that would have occurred in the consistency of butter, the use of palm-derived feed supplements or a link between the two,” Lefebvre says.
Palm-derived feed supplements have been approved for use in dairy cow rations in Canada for more than 30 years. The amount of palmitic acid in the supplements varies from 30% to more than 80%.
Not all farms in Canada feed palm-derived supplements. The report shared results from a Valacta survey in 2018 where only 22% of the 1,585 Quebec dairy farmer respondents included a palm-derived supplement in their cows’ ration.
Of farms across Canada that do feed palm-derived supplements, they typically make up less than 1% of the ration, the report stated.
“Feeding palm-derived feed supplements contributes to cows’ palmitic acid intake, but represents a small contribution to the palmitic acid content of milk, most of which being naturally produced by the cow from conventional feeds like forages, cereal grains and oilseeds,” says Lefebvre, who is also the chief operations officer – director, Centre of Expertise at Lactanet.
Milkfat contains more than 400 different fatty acids, and its composition can also be influenced by season, stage of lactation and the variance in feeds produced in different regions of the country.
As mentioned, the working group collected data on raw milk samples with the cooperation of provincial milk boards and Lactanet.
Bulk tank milk samples from all Ontario and Quebec farms between October 2019 and April 2021 revealed there have not been any remarkable changes in the composition of the four main fatty acids found in milk (myristic, palmitic, stearic and oleic) over that time.
The second dataset included analysis of bulk tank milk samples from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia collected between May and July 2021. It showed the Western provinces have slightly higher levels of palmitic acid and slightly lower levels of oleic acid than Ontario and the Eastern provinces.
“There has been very little change in fatty acid composition of milk, and there are only small seasonal and regional differences in fatty acid composition,” reads the report.
“The overall composition of the pooled (overall) milk supply has remained quite consistent,” it says.
In terms of processing, there are many factors that impact the melting point of butter or its firmness, such as cream handling, churning and post-manufacturing storage and handling. For example, according to the report, a longer storage time or a fluctuation in the storage temperature can lead to an increase in butter hardness.
It was also noted that shorter milking intervals – more prevalent with automated milking systems – lead to larger fat globules in milk, which is another factor that can increase butter hardness.
“However, considering the limited amount of information available at the present time, including the lack of data on the actual evolution of butter hardness, it is not possible to link specific process-related factors that would have evolved over the recent years’ period with variations in butter hardness,” the report reads.
Four butter manufacturers provided data on the number of complaints from consumers related to butter texture, which were typically less than 10% of the total number of complaints in any given year with no clear trend toward a higher level of complaints specific to texture from 2017 to 2020.
Processors were also consulted on the shift in demand from the restaurant and hospitality industry to the retail sector (due to pandemic restrictions) and noted it did not result in any significant changes in manufacturing during that time.
In March 2021, 40 samples of retail butter from various brands were collected from across the country. The concentration of palmitic acid in the samples was positively correlated with the percentage of solid fat in butter at room temperature, which can impact its firmness. However, the survey also demonstrated many other milk fatty acids had a positive or negative association with the percentage of solid fat in butter at room temperature.
“There is a variety of factors that influence the fatty acid profile of milk, which is only one of the factors that can affect butter consistency,” Lefebvre says.
The working group used the information and data available to them in 2021, but recognizes it is not complete.
“As part of the report’s findings, we concluded there are gaps in the body of knowledge that should be addressed, and we offered a series of recommendations to better understand issues related to the properties of butter while also ensuring that industry is better equipped to meet consumer expectations,” Lefebvre says.
Those recommendations include further testing for both milk and butter, product and process innovation, consumer research, sourcing of feedstuffs that meet ethical policies and consideration of feed practices on the environmental footprint of milk.
Pierre Lampron, president of DFC, responded to the report’s release by saying, “I want to express my gratitude to the expert working group under the chairmanship of Dr. Daniel Lefebvre. Its report sheds light into the knowledge gaps related to the consistency of butter and animal feed supplements containing palm byproducts.”
DFC states it will invest in further research to address the remaining questions identified in the report.
