Fats in milk will obviously depend on feed as cows like us are what they eat.
So I suppose you need to know what your organics cows ate but a Uk trial suggests organic milk has a better fat profile.
High levels of vegetable seed in feed are likely to produce high six contents.
Interestingly swiss cows from alpine pastures seem to have high omega three content.
RB
http://www.dairy-science.org/cgi/con...ract/89/6/1938
Comparing the Fatty Acid Composition of Organic and Conventional Milk
K. A. Ellis*,1, G. Innocent*, D. Grove-White{dagger}, P. Cripps{dagger}, W. G. McLean{ddagger}, C. V. Howard§ and M. Mihm#
* Division of Animal Production and Public Health, University of Glasgow Veterinary School, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
{dagger} Division of Livestock Health and Welfare, University of Liverpool, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leahurst, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK
{ddagger} Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics School of Biomedical Sciences, Sherrington Buildings, Ashton Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L69 3GE, UK
§ Centre for Molecular Biosciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK
# Division of Cell Sciences, Institute of Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow Veterinary School, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK
1 Corresponding author:
k.ellis@vet.gla.ac.uk
During a 12-mo longitudinal study, bulk-tank milk was collected each month from organic (n = 17) and conventional (n = 19) dairy farms in the United Kingdom. All milk samples were analyzed for fatty acid (FA) content, with the farming system type, herd production level, and nutritional factors affecting the FA composition investigated by use of mixed model analyses. Models were constructed for saturated fatty acids, the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to monounsaturated fatty acids, total n-3 FA, total n-6 FA, conjugated linoleic acid, and vaccenic acid. The ratio of n-6:n-3 FA in both organic and conventional milk was also compared. Organic milk had a higher proportion of PUFA to monounsaturated fatty acids and of n-3 FA than conventional milk, and contained a consistently lower n-6:n-3 FA ratio (which is considered beneficial) compared with conventional milk. There was no difference between organic and conventional milk with respect to the proportion of conjugated linoleic acid or vaccenic acid. A number of factors other than farming system were identified which affected milk FA content including month of year, herd average milk yield, breed type, use of a total mixed ration, and access to fresh grazing. Thus, organic dairy farms in the United Kingdom produce milk with a higher PUFA content, particularly n-3 FA, throughout the year. However, knowledge of the effects of season, access to fresh grazing, or use of specific silage types could be used by producers to enhance the content of beneficial FA in milk.
Key Words: organic farming • fatty acid • n-3 fatty acid • conjugated linoleic acid
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/cont...ract/109/1/103
Basic Science Reports
High {omega}-3 Fatty Acid Content in Alpine Cheese
The Basis for an Alpine Paradox
Christa B. Hauswirth, MD; Martin R.L. Scheeder, Dr sg agr; Jürg H. Beer, MD
From the Department of Medicine, Kantonsspital Baden, and the Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland.
Correspondence to J.H. Beer, MD, Department of Medicine, Kantonsspital Baden, 5404 Baden, Switzerland. E-mail
hansjuerg.beer@ksb.ch
Received June 17, 2003; revision received August 21, 2003; accepted August 22, 2003.
Background— {alpha}-Linolenic acid (ALA) may protect from cardiovascular disease. Because fresh alpine grass contains high amounts of ALA, we hypothesized that the levels of {omega}-3 fatty acids would concentrate to nutritional relevance in the cheese of milk from cows with alpine grass feeding compared with cheese from silage and concentrate feeding; the newly available cheese produced from cows fed with linseed supplementation should contain even higher ALA concentrations.
Methods and Results— Forty different cheeses were analyzed by gas chromatography for their fatty acid profile: (1) 12 from well-defined alpine regions around Gstaad, Switzerland; (2) 7 commercially available English cheddar cheeses; (3) 6 cheeses from cows fed with linseed supplementation; (4) 7 industrial-type Emmentals; and (5) 8 alpine cheeses with partial silage feeding. The alpine cheese contained 4 times more linolenic acid (C18:3{omega}-3) compared with cheddar, more total {omega}-3 fatty acids, and showed a significantly lower n-6:{omega}-3 ratio. Conjugated linoleic acid (C18:2 c9/t11) was 3-fold higher, whereas the amount of palmitic acid was 20% lower. The Emmental reached 40% of the ALA content compared with alpine cheese, and surprisingly, cheese from linseed-supplemented cows contained only 49% of that of the alpine cheese (P<0.001 for each trait in the 5 cheese groups).
Conclusions— Cheese made of milk from cows grazed on alpine pastures had a more favorable fatty acid profile than all other cheese types. Alpine cheese may be a relevant source of ALA and other cardioprotective fatty acids.
Key Words: nutrition • fatty acids • coronary disease • diet • death, sudden