Production of conjugated linoleic acid enriched milk and dairy products from cows receiving grass silage supplemented with a cereal-based concentrate containing rapeseed oil

Opportunities for the production of milk and dairy products enriched with cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were investigated. Eighteen mid-lactation cows were used in a continuous-design for 7 weeks. During the first week, cows received grass silage ad libitum supplemented with 10 kg per day of a cereal-based concentrate (control) that was replaced with a concentrate containing 50 g kg−1 of rapeseed oil (RO). Changes in milk fatty acid composition were monitored on a weekly basis and milk produced was used to manufacture Edam cheese and butter. Inclusion of RO in the concentrate supplement increased the mean levels of trans-octadecanoic, monounsaturated, CLA and polyunsaturated fatty acid in the milk fat from 1.6, 25.7, 0.46 and 2.8 to 4.3, 35.3, 1.02 and 3.9 g 100 g−1 total fatty acids, respectively. In contrast, the mean level of saturated fatty acids decreased from 71.4 to 60.7 g  100 g−1 total fatty acids. Changes in milk fatty acid composition due to RO occurred within 7 days, with responses reaching a plateau after 21 days. Furthermore, the CLA concentrations in the milk fat from individual cows ranged between 0.37 and 0.65 and 0.43 and 2.06 g 100 g−1 total fatty acids for the control and RO diet, respectively. CLA enriched milk was used successfully to manufacture of Edam cheese and butter with softer textures but with acceptable organoleptic and storage properties. Processing milk into butter or cheese had no effect on the CLA concentrations indicating that enrichment of dairy products is dependent on the content in raw milk fat.