COMMUNITY RESEARCH Improving the quality and safety and reduction in cost in the European organic and low-input food supply chains Integrated project QualityLowInputFood QLIF

COMMUNITY RESEARCH SP1 SP3 SP4 SP2 SP2 – WP2.3 SP5 SP6 WP6.1 SP7 HA7.2 SP7 HA7.1 SP7 HA7.3 Dissemination HA7.4 Training

COMMUNITY RESEARCH SP2 Effect of organic, low-input and conventional production systems and their components on food quality and safety

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Production system componentsdairy cowspigspoultryrats SP2 Effect of: 1. Season + 2. Health management + 3. Feeding regime + +* +* 3. Husbandry Breed/genotype + SP3 * health impact studies Improvement of: 2. Health management Parasites + + Intestinal diseases + + (+) Mastitis + 3. Feeding regimes Husbandry Breed/genotype + + Identifying factors affecting yield, quality and/or safety Improving yield, quality and/or safety Animal production systems

COMMUNITY RESEARCH SP2 - WP2.2 Effect of organic, low-input and conventional production systems on fatty acid and fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations in milk Gillian Butler Jacob H Nielsen, Tina Slots, Chris Seal, Roy Sanderson Carlo Leifert Newcastle University, UK Aarhus University, DK Granarolo Ltd, Italy

COMMUNITY RESEARCH SP2 - WP2.2 Effect of organic, low-input and conventional production systems on fatty acid and fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations in milk Gillian Butler, Jacob H Nielsen, Tina Slots, Cris Seal, Roy Sanderson and Carlo Leifert Newcastle University, UK Aarhus University, DK Granarolo Ltd. Italy

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Experimental approach UK survey monitored milk from 25 farms in the UK over 2 years (surveys also in Sweden, Denmark and Italy) l 2 production systems in North East England 1.High input conventional 2.Low Input organic certified l 3 production systems in Wales 1.High input conventional 2.Low Input organic certified (block calving) 3.Low Input non-certified (block calving)

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Proportion of Holstein Friesian genetics in conventional, organic and low input dairy herds % Holstein Friesian genetics Dairy production system a b c

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Diets of conventional, organic, and low input dairy herds % of diet Dairy production system + synthetic Vitamin E

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Proportion of cows receiving antibiotic treatments for mastitis in conventional, organic, low input dairy herds % cows treated for mastitis Dairy production system a b b

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Milk yield per cow in conventional, organic and low input dairy herds % Milk yield per cow Dairy production system bb a

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Protein and fat content in milk from conventional, organic, low input dairy herds % Dairy production system ab a b A B C

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Milk composition l Milk is recognised to be a valuable sources of 1.protein, 2.minerals (especially Calcium) 3.and vitamins … l But also contains Milk fat! l For years milk fat (butter & cream) was mainly know for its nutritionally undesirable components: l High levels of saturated fats, which are known to increase 1.blood LDL (bad) cholesterol levels an 2.the risk of heart disease

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Unsaturated milk fatty acids l Milk fat also contains 25-40% unsaturated fats, l some of these have been linked to positive effects on health l the main unsaturated fatty acids linked to potential positive effects on health are: 1.α-linolenic acid (α-LA), C18:3c9c12c15 = the main omega-3 fatty acid (n-3) in milk 2.conjugated linoleic acid isomer C18:2c9 t11 (CLA9) 3.vaccinic acid (VA) C18:1t11, which the human body can convert into CLA isomer C18:2 c9 t11

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Nutritionally desirable polyunsaturated fatty acids l Omega 3 fatty acids (C18:3c9c12c15) (Hu et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition;69(5): and Horrobin, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition;57:732S-736S) –Reduced risk of diabetes and heart/cardiovascular diseases –Important for nervous tissue development; linked to improved brain function l CLA9 (C18:2c9t11) (Whigham, Cook and Atkinson, Pharmacological Research 2000;42(6):503-10) –Reducing cancer risk –Preventing heart disease –Improving immune function

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Nutritionally less desirable polyunsaturated fatty acids However Some of the unsaturated fats are less desirable these include: 1.omega-6 fatty acids (n-6), because we take up too much omega-6 and too little omega 3 in our diet 2.CLA isomer C18:2c10 c12 (CLA10), which was linked to both beneficial and negative health effects

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Sources of omega-3 fatty acids and CLA9 in the human diet l Most foods are low in omega 3 fatty acids; except for oily fish which is high in omega 3 fatty acids l The only source of CLA9 is ruminant fat in milk, dairy products or meat from cows, sheep and goats l CLA9 can be produced from vaccenic acid (VA) in the human body by the Δ-9 desaturase enzyme C18:1 t11 C18:2 c9 t11 VAΔ-9 dCLA9 l The total potential CLA content in the diet is therefore CLA9 +VA

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Omega 3 and omega 6 levels in milk from different dairy production systems (outdoor period) g kg -1 milk fat Dairy production system a b c B A A

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Omega 3 : 6 ratio in milk from different dairy production systems (outdoor period) n-3:n6 FA ratio Dairy production system a b a

COMMUNITY RESEARCH VA, CLA9 and CLA10 levels in milk from different dairy systems (outdoor grazing period) g kg -1 milk fat Dairy production system a b c B A A ns

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Fat soluble Antioxidants l Milk is a valuable source of fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants especially l Vitamin E and carotenoids (pro-vitamin A) l Antioxidants have 3 important functions –linked to protection against cancer and heart disease in humans –Improve the health of dairy cows (Vit E especially; reduced mastitis and improved fertility) –Prolong shelf life of unsaturated fats in dairy products

COMMUNITY RESEARCH 3R and 2R stereoisomers of -tocopherol in milk from different dairy systems mg kg -1 milk fat Dairy production system c b a ns

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Carotenoids (pro-vitamin A) in milk from different dairy systems (outdoor grazing period) mg kg -1 milk fat Dairy production system c b a A B C

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Composition differences between organic and conventional milk during the outdoor grazing and winter indoor period % difference compared to conventional Milk components

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Dairy production Multi-variate analyses

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Multivariate analyses Feed components as drivers Individual Fatty acids as response variables Concentrate Conserved forage Fresh forage VA = vaccenic acid (C18:1 t11) CLA = conjugated linoleic acid (isomer C18:2 c9 t11) LA = linolenic acid (C18:3 c9 c12 c15) n-6 n-3

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Concentrate Conserved forage Fresh forage α-tocopherol 2RT = 2R steroisomers 3RT = 3R stereoisomer carotenoids βC = β-carotene LUT = lutein ZEA = zeaxanthine Dairy - Multivariate analyses Feed components and vitamin supplements as drivers Individual antioxidants as response variables Vitamin supplements

COMMUNITY RESEARCH Fatty acid and fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations in milk from high- and low-input conventional and organic systems: seasonal variation Gillian Butler, Jacob H Nielsen, Tina Slots, Cris Seal, Roy Sanderson and Carlo Leifert Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2008) 88: Influence of organic diet on the amount of conjugated linoleic acids in breastmilk of lactating women in the NL Lukas Rist, Andre Mueller, Christiane Barthel, Bianca Snijders, Margje Jansen, Paula Simoes- Wust, Machteld Huber, Ischa Kummeling, Ursula von Mandach, Hans Steinhart and Carel Thijs British Journal of Nutrition (2007) 97: Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands Ischa Kummeling, Carel Thijs, Machteld Huber, Lucy P. L. van de Vijver, Bianca E. P. Snijders, John Penders, Foekje Stelma, Ronald van Ree, Piet A. van den Brandt and Pieter C. Dagnelie British Journal of Nutrition (2008) 99: