Background:

Milk and dairy products contribute significantly to human 12:0, 14:0 and 16:0 consumption

• Excessive intake of these saturated fatty acids is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease

Lipid in domestic rapeseed is rich in oleic acid cis-9 18:1 with potential to

• Modify bovine milk fat composition
  - Less saturated fatty acids
  - More cis-9 18:1

Mitigate ruminal methane

• Energy dense lipid not fermented in the rumen
• Biohydrogenation of double bonds consumes hydrogen

Aim:

Examine the effects of milled rapeseed on milk fat composition and ruminal methane emissions of dairy cows on grass silage based diets of high digestibility

Researchers at the University of Helsinki:

Anni Halmemies-Beauchet-Filleau, Seija Jaakkola, Tuomo Kokkonen and Aila Vanhatalo

In partnership with:

Valio Ltd and University of Reading

Funding:

The European Institute of Innovations and Technology (EIT) Food

Publications:

Halmemies-Beauchet-Filleau et al. 2019. Rapeseed lipids to decrease saturated fatty acids in milk and ruminal methane emissions of dairy cows. Proceedings of the 10th Nordic Feed Science Conference, pages 69–73.