L.F. Edmondson

Feeding encapsulated oils to increase the polyunsaturation in milk and meat fat

Methods of preparing encapsulated, or protected vegetable oil supplements for feeding ruminant animals to increase the polyunsaturation in milk and meat fat are outlined. The C 18:2 content of milk from cows fed increasing amounts of protected safflower oil during a 6 week dose-response experiment increased from 3 to 30% of total fat. At high levels of C 18:2 in milk fat, whole milks tended to develop an oxidized flavor, which was slight in fresh raw milk but increased markedly after 24 hr. Addition of an antioxidant to fresh milk suppressed this off-flavor. Creams containing high levels of C 18:2 required longer aging times than normal cream for satisfactory churning. Butter containing 16% or more of C 18:2 was soft and somewhat sticky but was much more readily spreadable at refrigerator temperatures than normal butter. Veal fat from supplement fed calves had four times as much C 18:2 as fat from controls.