A Quebec dairy farmers group is calling on milk producers to stop feeding palm oil or its derivatives to livestock as controversy churns over how these supplements affect the consistency of butter.
The Quebec Dairy Producers says it will follow the recommendations of Dairy Farmers of Canada’s new working committee examining the use of palm oil supplements in cow feed, while insisting that the common practice doesn’t raise health or safety concerns.
The inquiry comes in response to consumers’ concerns that butter has gotten harder, but some experts question whether spreadability is a widespread issue.
Calgary food writer Julie Van Rosendaal posits that butter has become firmer as farmers have added palm fat supplements to livestock feed to keep up with pandemic-fuelled demand for baking ingredients.
Alejandro Marangoni, a food science professor at University of Guelph, says while components of palm oil found in milk fat can affect the melting point of butter, there’s no data to support “sensationalist” claims of a great hardening.
David Christensen, a professor emeritus of animal and poultry science at University of Saskatchewan, says Canadian farmers have used palmitic acid products to increase milk fat production for about two decades.
Christensen says if the consistency of butter has changed, it could be related to the palmitic acid content, or changes to the methods processors use to produce butter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2021
