The institute is developing milk that’s high in healthy omega fatty acid content and has already found success in experiments.
Products like high-omega eggs and pork, which are fed omega-rich rapeseed feeds, are already on the market. But researchers want to know how much omega fats in a cow’s diet ends up in her milk.
Professor Johanna Vilkki of the Natural Resources Institute said that changing a cow’s diet with an omega boost does indeed alter the components of the milk’s fat content for the better.
There’s a notable increase in unsaturated fats and healthier fatty acids, she said.
Using plants to improve products
The perennial herbaceous plant fireweed has long been known to increase milk production in cows, and researchers are looking for opportunities in using it, too.
While most consider fireweed to be just an invasive weed, Vilkki says the possibilities of combining omega-rich feed with other plants like fireweed are interesting.
“There are many interesting chemical compound combinations called vegetable tannins,” Vilkki said, “which could have a positive impact on the fat content, milk production levels and health of the cow.”
However, further testing is needed before we’ll see omega milk on store shelves, Vilkki said.
The institute is working on the project in the town of Jokioinen, some 120 km northwest of Helsinki.