Lately, an article in Social Media was used to spread false information regarding the healthfulness and quality of our Canadian dairy products, namely butter. This kind of attack on our industry is powered by a plain misunderstanding of our animal production systems, saying the least. The response of our scientific community (professors, nutritionists, veterinarians, ..) has been instrumental in clarifying the facts. In this brief blog, I would like to touch on a few key-points.
Palm oil and palmitic acid are not the same. Palm oil is a vegetable oil produced mainly for human consumption. The fat profile of palm oil contains 45% palmitic fatty acid, 40% oleic fatty acid, and 10% linoleic fatty acid. It is estimated that 75 million metric tonnes are produced every year, which exceeds both soy oil and rapeseed oil productions.
The attached chart roughly outlines the refining process to produce the two edible fractions of palm oil, Olein and Stearin. The refining process produces a by-product – waste below the food-grade level – that is utilized for the production of biodiesel, candles, soaps, .., as well as animal feeds. The by-product is approximately 3-5% of the raw material input, and its percentage is declining as the refining process getting better and better. Waste products in our circular global economy are expected to have economical values, and in the case of the palm oil refining process, the by-product value is worth approximately 4% of the value of the major product.
Deforestation and its negative impact on biological diversity is a major global concern. However, Canadian companies looking to import food or animal feed derived from palm plantations can reliably source their products from a certified palm oil supplier. To my knowledge, our major sources of palm by-products in Canada are imported from certified sources that adhere to “no deforestation” policies, such as RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). Dairy producers or nutritionists can request such certification from their Canadian suppliers.
Cow’s milk is ~ 4% butterfat and palmitic acid is the primary fatty acid naturally present in the milk (~ 33% of total milk fatty acid). Also, palmitic acid is present in breast milk and is usually added to baby’s formulae (20 to 25%) to provide infants with needed energy. Therefore, the claim by “Buttergate” that feeding palmitic acid poses safety or health concerns on human health has no scientific ground. Palmitic acid is certified for use as an animal feed by the CFIA and other regulatory bodies around the world.
The main palmitic acid supplement fed to dairy cows is a purified 85% palmitic acid supplement. Farmers have the option to substitute 1-2% of their cow’s dairy ration with palmitic acid (300-500g/d). This practice increases the energy density of the diet, which is very important as cows cannot consume enough forages during the early stage of lactation. Cows that undergo prolonged or severe “negative energy balance” during early lactation are susceptible to diseases and metabolic issues.
Other sources of fats can be used such as unsaturated fats (canola or soy by-products) or grains. However, palmitic acid is considered a “friendlier” source of fat with no impact on fibre degradability in the digestive tract of the cow.
Butter hardness, cheese yield, and other milk processability parameters can be influenced by many factors, some of which are the breed of the cow, season, time since calving, milk handling, and diet of the cow. There is no available data showing any impact of current practices of feeding palmitic acid (1-2%) on butterfat quality. Some evidence suggests that feeding large amounts of palmitic acid may impact butterfat melting point, however, this is not a common practice in Canada and nor it is economically feasible to do so in most regions. Likewise, feeding a large amount of unsaturated fatty acid (such as linoleic fatty acid derived from soy- or corn-based byproducts) can have an impact on butterfat content and processability (in addition to its effect on the digestion of fibre as mentioned above). More research is required in this field. Balancing the ration of our dairy cows for fibre, protein, starch, amino acids, and fatty acids among other macro micronutrients is what our nutritionists in the industry do daily. They utilize sophisticated computer models empowered by decades of research.
In conclusion, supplementing palmitic acid to lactating cows does not impact the healthfulness of milk. Palmitic acid supplements destined for animal feed can be obtained from sustainable sources obliged to “no deforestation” policies. The Canadian dairy industry delivers one of the highest standards for dairy production in the world, but at the same time holds a massive obligation to live up to consumers’ expectations and be open and transparent. Education and communication are key to avoid the spread of false information about animal agriculture.
(Image credit: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335315240/figure/download/fig1/AS:794511185805312@1566437636194/The-refinery-palm-oil-process-Refined-palm-oil-RPO-seen-within-the-red-dashed-box.jpg)