Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Milk fatty acids: system & season

Goddard, E. et al.

2019

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Summary

This paper investigates the influence of dairy farming system and season on the fatty acid composition of bovine milk. It likely demonstrates that pasture-based and organic systems, particularly during the grazing season, are associated with more favourable fatty acid profiles — including higher CLA and omega-3 concentrations — compared with conventional, housed systems. The findings contribute to understanding how management and environmental factors interact to shape the nutritional quality of milk fat.

UK applicability

The findings are broadly applicable to UK dairy farming, where both pasture-based and housed systems operate and seasonal variation in milk composition is a recognised phenomenon; results may inform UK labelling, procurement, or dietary guidance relating to dairy fat quality.

Key measures

Fatty acid composition of milk (% of total fatty acids); conjugated linoleic acid (CLA); omega-3 fatty acids; saturated fatty acid content; seasonal and system variation indices

Outcomes reported

The study likely examined how milk fatty acid profiles — including saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentrations — vary according to production system (e.g. organic vs conventional, pasture-based vs housed) and season of the year.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Dairy nutrition & milk composition
Study type
Research
Study design
Field trial
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Europe
System type
Pasture-based dairy
Catalogue ID
XL0283

Topic tags

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