PROJECT NUMBER: W-181 (Revised)

   Modifying milk fat composition for improved manufacturing qualities and consumer acceptability

DURATION  October 1, 1994 through September 30, 1999
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The committee members will address cooperatively modifying milk fat composition to improve manufacturing qualities and to address consumer concerns.  To accomplish this, efforts will be co-ordinated to

1)  Identify metabolic functions in dairy animals which regulate the composition of milk fat;
2)  Quantify effects of diet manipulation on milk composition; and
3)  Characterize the quality of modified milk fat for manufacturing purposes and acceptability as
     human food.

JUSTIFICATION

Dairy products are an important source of vital nutrients in the human diet.  Nevertheless, many health-conscious consumers perceive dairy products to contain excessive amounts of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.  Butter and other high-fat dairy products are excluded from diets designed to decrease blood cholesterol and prevent or treat coronary heart disease (Ney, 1991).  Dairy products provide only 15% of the total fat in the diet, but 25% of the total saturated fat (O’Donnell, 1993).

This proposed project addresses four goals/objectives outlined by FAIR ‘95 (1993) which address enhancing the quality of dairy products for human consumption.  They are:

Goal 1.  Identify and quantify societal concerns about food products from animals and
              production systems to enhance communication between consumers and the food
              industry.

Objective 1.  Identify societal concerns that affect the marketplace through food choices.

Goal 2.  Meet consumer needs in domestic and international markets for competitive and high
              quality food products from animals.

Objective 2.  Enhance the quality of food products from animals.

Goal 3.  Develop integrated food animal management systems and animal health systems
              that support efficient, competitive, and sustainable production of safe and wholesome
              food consistent with animal and environmental well-being.

Objective 2.  Develop research data basis and integrate them into decision-support systems for
                      producers.

Goal 5.  Improve industry wide, quality control systems for food products from animals.

Objective 3.  Identify human nutritional needs for specific consumer populations in relationship
                      to the composition of food products from animals.

 Further, the proposed project addresses priority research initiatives on
1) nutrition, food safety, and health;
2) processes and products; and
3) animal systems identified by the Strategic Agenda for the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, "Opportunities to Meet Changing Needs" (ESCOP, 1994).

The fatty acid composition of milk fat is shown in Table 1.  Approximately 64% of the fatty acids in milk are saturated.  Recent research has shown, however, that not all saturated fatty acids increase blood cholesterol in humans.

TABLE 1.  Fatty acid composition of a reference milk fat.
 
Fatty Acid
Common Name 
 Typical Composition1
C4:0
Butyric
3.32
C6:0
Caproic
2.34
C8:0
Caprylic
1.19
C10:0
Capric
2.81
C12:0
Lauric
3.39
C14:0
Myristic
11.41
C14:1
2.63
C16:0
Plamitic
29.53
C16:1
Palmitoleic
3.38
C18:0
Steraic
9.84
C18:1(cis) 
Oleic
24.39
C18:1(trans)
3.002
C18:2
Linoleic
2.78
 
1. Mean of measures from 50 cheese plants in 10 regions of the United States in February, May,
    August, and November.  Palmquist et al. (1993).
2. Jensen (1992).

Fatty acids of less than 12 carbon atoms are neutral or actually may decrease cholesterol.  Stearic acid (C18:0) acts similarly to oleic acid (cis-C18:1) to decrease cholesterol (Ney, 1991).  Only three saturated fatty acids (lauric, C12:0; myristic, C14:0; and palmitic, C16:0) now are considered to be hypercholesterolemic.  These three fatty acids constitute about 44% of total milk fatty acids (Table 1).  According to a group of nutritionists from industry and academia (O’Donnell, 1989), the "ideal" milk fat for human health would contain <10% polyunsaturated fatty acids, < 8% saturated fatty acids, and > 82% monounsaturated fatty acids.  Fatty acids with less than 12 carbons are not included in this total.  Concerns about the negative effects of trans-isomers of unsaturated fatty acids (Ney, 1991) indicates that any increases in poly- or monounsaturated fatty acids in milk should be primarily in the cis configuration.

Real or perceived concerns about the effects of milk fat on health and well-being not only decreases the economic value of dairy products (and thus producer incomes), but more importantly may compromise consumption of highly nutritious foods.  Dairy products contribute the following percentages of total intakes for adults: Ca, 42-46; P, 18-23; K, 13-15; Mg, 10-13; and Zn, 10-12.  For adolescents and children, dairy foods contributed much greater percentages of these nutrients (O’Donnell, 1993).  Thus, it is important for public health and well-being that consumption of dairy products be maintained or increased so that intake of important nutrients is not compromised.
 
Modification of the fatty acid profile of milk should be beneficial to human health and improve the image of dairy products to health-conscious consumers.  As a consequence, sales of dairy products should increase, which would be of direct benefit to dairy producers and processors.  Research to this end has been encouraged in several forums on research priorities, including the FAIR 95 agenda (1993), ESCOP (1994), and a roundtable discussion by prominent nutrition researchers (Berner, 1993b).  Although it is not likely that the "ideal" milk fat composition could be achieved, manipulation of the composition of milk fat is possible through feeding practices for dairy cows (Grummer, 1991; Palmquist et al., 1993).  For example, feeding supplemental fats may increase contents of C18:0 and C18:1 while decreasing contents of C14:0 and C16:0; at the same time, however, content of more of more desirable short-chain fatty acids also decrease.  Karijord et al. (1982) reported the composition and its variance of milk fat from Norwegian dairy herds.  The coefficients of variation for individual fatty acids of milk fat ranged from 9-22%.  The stage of lactation and month of season accounted for 10-25% of the variance, with the remainder being attributed to individual animal variation.  The stage of lactation was more important than the season with regard to variance.  Nutritional inputs were not considered in the model.  Karijord, et al. (1982) concluded that genetic approaches might be used to alter milk fat composition.  A recent review (Gibson, 1991) concluded, however, that practical possibilities are limited to make changes through traditional breeding approaches or transgenic technologies.  Increased knowledge of the control and regulation of milk fat composition by mammary tissue is needed to develop, through rational scientific approaches, new dietary strategies for alteration of milk fat.  Quantifying changes produced by defined nutritional manipulations in carefully designed and coordinated scientific experimentation will allow quantitative prediction of changes in milk fat composition that could be expected by feeding specialized diets to dairy cows.

Milk fat composition also can be altered by manufacturing processes, such as fractionation, blending or interesterification.  These practices, however, may compromise flavor, mouth feel, or other physical properties of the modified dairy products (Berner, 1993a).  Also, the variation in milk fat composition which now exists in commercial milk causes difficulty to produce consistent milk fat fractions.  Consistent, high quality milk fat fractions are required to develop some new dairy foods.   Technologies also exist or are being developed to remove cholesterol from milk fat; these technologies may increase consumer acceptance but have limited nutritional impact because dairy products are a minor source (5%) of dietary cholesterol (Berner, 1993a).

A coordinated effort to study nutritional regulation and manipulation of milk fat composition offers the best opportunity for successfully producing milk of altered fat composition.  Such an ambitious goal likely will not be achieved by a single investigator or institution.  Cooperative research through the regional research system is a rational approach to focus attention and progress on this important topic.  By collecting data for a coordinated data base, a modeling approach can be used to predict dietary effects on milk fat composition and processing qualities.  Success of such approaches will depend on generating additional data with a variety of dietary strategies to parametrize the model.  Specialized technologies to evaluate the composition and functionality of milk, such as determination of positional isomers and manufacturing characteristics, would best be shared through cooperative research to avoid unnecessary duplication of expensive equipment or specialized labor.  Furthermore, it is essential that any changes in milk fat composition be evaluated for resultant effects on flavor, texture, and processing characteristics of milk and dairy products.  Because few experiment stations possess dairy products research centers with such capabilities, a cooperative approach will be necessary to properly evaluate milk with altered fat composition.

RELATED CURRENT AND PREVIOUS WORK

Genetic selection for increased milk fat percentage leads to increased proportions of short-chain fatty acids in milk fat and decreased proportions of long-chain fatty acids (Karijord et al., 1982).  Milk fat composition is strongly influenced by stage of lactation; proportion of short chains are low initially and increases until at least 8 to 10 wk. into lactation.  Seasonal and regional differences in milk fat composition are measurable, most likely because of local differences in feed supplies (Palmquist et al, 1993).

The fundamental processes of milk fat synthesis are well established and explain the occurrence of high amounts of saturated fatty acids in milk.  Milk fat is synthesized from fatty acids (FA) which are obtained from blood or by de nova synthesis in the mammary gland.  Fatty acids synthesized de nova contain 4 to 16 carbons and are saturated.  Blood FA is derived from diet or from lipolysis in adipose tissue.  Approximately 50 to 60% of milk FA is of dietary origin; therefore, FA composition of milk can be influenced by diet.  Modifications of dietary FA prior to incorporation into milk fat include biohydrogenation in the rumen and desaturation of stearic acid by intestinal, adipose, or mammary tissue.  Consequently, milk FA tend to be lower in polyunsaturated FA and higher in oleic acid than is dietary fat.
 
The most thorough modern summaries of the distribution of FA in milk fat and dairy products are by Jensen et al. (1991) and Jensen (1992).  A CRIS search revealed 60 projects related to milk production and/or dietary effects on milk composition, and/or milk fat quality.  Twenty-five of these projects addressed feeding effects on milk composition; however, the main focus was on milk protein.  Only six included detailed evaluation of feeding effects on milk fat composition. Nine projects were related to evaluation of modified fat in dairy products with respect to physical and chemical characteristics of product quality and flavor.  Of the lipid studies, fourteen were research projects of W-181 (revised) members of their colleagues, whereas five were from investigators outside the proposed project.  One outside investigator had a closely related project (MD-C-114) but chose not to participate in W-181 because of prior commitments.  Thus, the proposed revised project will bring together those investigators already working in the field without serious duplication by those outside the project.  The skills are extant; the project should increase productivity and decrease unnecessary duplication.

Metabolic Regulation

The physical properties (primarily fluidity or melting point) of milk fat are critical as the fat must be liquid at body temperature.  Three metabolic processes within the mammary gland influence the fluidity of the milk fat: 1) chain length of FA synthesized de novo; 2) desaturation of stearate to oleate; 3) positional distribution of FA on glycerol.  Considerable information on the metabolic processes and regulation of milk fat synthesis is available, with comprehensive studies from the laboratories of Kinsella, and Knudsen and colleagues.  Pathways and regulation of de novo synthesis are by the classical pathways (Dils, 1983), with acetate, lactate, and  -OH-butyrate as primary carbon sources, and glucose as the primary source of reducing equivalents (Forsberg et al., 1985).

Regulation of the pattern (chain length) of FA synthesized de novo is not well-defined.  Many non-ruminant mammalian species regulate synthesis of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (SCFA and MCFA, respectively) by a specific enzyme (thioesterase II) which cleaves the MCFA from the fatty acid synthetase (FAS) enzyme complex (Smith, 1980).  However, ruminants do not possess this enzyme; rather, the mammary gland FAS exhibits both medium-chain thioesterase and transacylase activity (Knudsen and Grunnet, 1982).  The transacylase which transfers the activated primer chain to the FAS complex has broad chain-length specificity, so that there is competition both for transfer to and removal from the FAS of acyl chains containing from 2 to 12 carbons.  Relative distribution is influenced by the affinity of the transacylase for substrates [highest affinity is for butyrate (Knudsen and Grunnet, 1980)] and seems to be modified by the concentration of malonyl CoA (Hansen and Knudsen, 1980).  Malonyl CoA concentration, in turn, is regulated to some extent by the concentration of long-chain acyl CoA in the cell (Bauman and Davis, 1974).  Relative supply of palmitic (C16:0) vs. oleic (C18:1) acids may influence the pattern of SCFA and MCFA synthesized (Hansen and Knudsen, 1987).

Saturated LCFA absorbed from the intestine would cause milk fat to be solid if excessive amounts were incorporated.  Melting point is lowered by activity of stearoyl CoA desaturase (Kinsella, 1972) to convert stearic acid (m.p. 70 C) to oleic acid (m.p. 5-7 C); to a lesser extent, palmitic acid is desaturated by the same enzyme.  As very little polyunsaturated FA (typically high in fluidity-sensitive membranes) are available for synthesis of milk fat triglyceride, synthesis of SCFA and MCFA and stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity to modify milk fat fluidity is critical.  Contributions of SCFA, MCFA, and LCFA to milk fat synthesis seem to be regulated in ruminants, but not tightly so, as variations in fluidity of milk fat are documented (Banks et al., 1989).

The third factor which influences physical properties of milk fat is the distribution of the various FA on the glycerol molecule (Palmquist et al., 1993).  Although specificity of acyltransferases has been demonstrated (Marshall and Knudsen, 1977), there is little documentation as to whether transferase activity can be modified.  Feeding C18:2 protected from ruminal biohydrogenation decreased the proportion of C16:0 and increased the proportion of C18:2 at the sn-2 position of glycerol (Jensen et al., 1991).
 
 
 

Dietary Regulation

Extensive information on the effects of diet on milk fat composition was reviewed by participants in this proposed regional project (Grummer, 1991); Palmquist et al., 1993).  Milk fat composition (distribution of the individual fatty acids) varies by breed of cow, stage of lactation, and diet (Palmquist et al., 1993).  Only the last is readily manipulated by management.  The most dramatic changes in milk fat composition are brought about by feeding supplemental fat.  Feeding fat that is rich in 18 carbon FA increases C18:0 and C18:1 content of milk fat and reduces the SCFA content of milk via reduction of de novo fatty acid synthesis.  Oleic acid (C18:1) content of milk can be increased substantially if the cow is fed high levels of substrate (C18:0) for stearoyl-CoA desaturase (Bickerstaffe et al., 1972).  Palmitic acid (C16:0) content of milk fat is typically reduced when feeding supplemental fat unless the fat is rich in C16:0.  Increases in C18:0, C18:1, and decreases in C16:0 contents of milk fat are considered to be positive changes in the milk fatty acid profile and can be achieved by changing in the diet of the cow.  However, the extent to which milk fat can be manipulated toward a more desirable fatty acid profile has not been determined.  For example, very few dose response curves to supplemental fat have been generated.  The few that have been reported have indicated that maximum changes in fatty acid profile have not been obtained within the levels of supplemental fat tested.  There are limitations to the amount of fat that can be supplemented to dairy diets due to inefficiencies in postruminal lipid digestion (Palmquist, 1994).  Methodologies for increasing absorption of fat from the small intestine need to be identified.   Although several methods for dietary manipulation of milk fat are available, the magnitude of change that can be achieved by each method is largely undefined.  Combining methods that take advantage of different biological processes have not been attempted but should be.  Finally, there needs to be a concerted effort to quantitate animal responses to dietary modifications.  Ultimately, it would be desirable to predict accurately changes in milk FA composition caused by diet modification.

In addition to feeding supplemental fat, milk unsaturated FA content (particularly C18:1) can be increased by reducing biohydrogenation in the rumen.  Reducing ruminal pH by feeding high levels of nonstructural carbohydrate will limit conversion of unsaturated fatty acids to C18:0 in the rumen (Latham et al., 1972).  Encapsulation of fat to prevent biohydrogenation is a strategy that was examined in the early 1970s (McDonald and Scott, 1977) and needs further examination now that there is increased emphasis on modifying milk fat composition.  Chemical modification of polyunsaturated fatty acids to reduce microbial hydrogenation is a strategy that is just beginning to be examined by a member of the proposed committee.

Product Quality

The most significant changes in milk fat quality relate to rheological (melting) properties, which influence numerous aspects of character and quality of manufactured dairy products (Mortensen, 1983).  The type of fatty acids present in milk fat can influence the flavor and physical properties of dairy products, as well as results of analytical tests for determination of milk fat (Barbano and Lynch, 1987; Stegeman et al., 1992).  The mid-infrared spectroscopic method underestimated the fat content of milk that was higher in unsaturated fatty acids (Stegeman et al., 1991).  The unique SCFA of milk fat, particularly butyric acid, are important for flavor development in some cheese and fermented dairy products (Barbano and Lynch, 1987).  The ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids and the ratio of short- to long-chain fatty acids can affect the meltability and spreadability of butter, and also may affect the body/texture and meltability of cheese.  Changing fatty acid composition affects milk fat melting directly, because each fatty acid has a characteristic melting point, and indirectly, by influencing the array of fatty acids in the various positions of the glycerol backbone.  This structure is the most important determiner of crystallization behavior and hardness of milk fat, as well as melting point (Connolly and Murphy, 1994).  Currently, variability of triglyceride structure in commercial milk fat compromises quality of products produced by crystallization/fractionization of milk fat (Laakso et al., 1992).

Sensory evaluation indicated that butter produced from cows fed high oleic sunflower seeds and regular sunflower seeds were equal or superior in flavor to the control butter (Middaugh et al., 1988).  The high oleic sunflower seed and regular sunflower seed treatment butters were softer, more unsaturated, and exhibited acceptable flavor, manufacturing, and storage characteristics.  Sensory evaluation of Cheddar cheese indicated that extruded soybean and sunflower diets yielded a product of quality similar to that of the control diet (Lightfield et al., 1993).  Cheese made from milk obtained with extruded soybean and sunflower diets contained higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids while maintaining acceptable flavor, manufacturing, and storage characteristics.  It is anticipated that the total unsaturated fatty acid content could be increased beyond the amounts achieved to date when feeding unsaturated fat sources and without adversely affecting flavor or product processing properties (Baer, 1991).

Research is limited concerning the processing and sensory properties of milk and dairy products containing higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids produced by cows fed supplemental fat.  Wong et al. (1973) processed milk from cows fed a protected safflower and oil-casein fat source to produce a Cheddar cheese containing 30% linoleic acid.  Experimental cheese possessed body and flavor defects; however, an acceptable Cheddar cheese was produced from polyunsaturated milk.

OBJECTIVES
 
1. To identify and characterize important regulatory steps in fatty acid synthesis and desaturation
     and their positional distribution on glycerol in milk fat.

2. To quantify modification of milk fat composition by manipulating the diet of the cow.

3. To characterize the effects of modified milk fats on physical, chemical, manufacturing, and
    sensory properties of dairy products.

PROCEDURES

Objective 1

A. There is a particular need to develop sound biochemical bases to understand metabolic
     regulation of the synthesis of individual milk fatty acids, in particular 12:0 and 14:0, which
     are of specific public concern today.  Objective 1 addresses these needs.

 Regulatory aspects of fatty acid synthesis and incorporation into triacylglycerol will be studied in mammary tissue explants, in isolated cells, in cell culture, or by preparing subcellular components of mammary tissue using standard enzymatic procedures (IL, OH, VA, WA).  In certain unique studies, metabolic limits for incorporation of specific fatty acids (varying in unsaturation or chain length) in vivo will be characterized by infusing these intestinally or intravenously (IL, OH).  Kinetic characteristics of stearoyl-CoA desaturase will be determined in microsomal fractions of mammary tissue (IL), and factors regulating SCFA synthesis will be determined in homogenates or explants (IL).

Influence of dietary trans-18:1 on fatty acid synthesis by an established mouse mammary epithelial cell line, which produces neutral lipids when stimulated by lactogenic hormones during growth on an extracellular matrix, will be studied (VA).  This group is studying rates of fatty acid elongation and fatty acid incorporation into triacylglyceride, activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and stearoyl-CoA desaturase, and plasma membrane fluidity in response to varying amounts of 18:0, cis-18:1, and trans-18:1 in the incubation medium.  These studies will be developed further in a bovine mammary cell (MAC-T) line to determine the extent to which concentrations of lipid precursors regulate rates of de nova fatty acid synthesis and desaturation of exogenous stearic acid.  Collaboration (IL and VA) to develop isolated cells (Hansen et al., 1986) as a metabolic model to study regulation of milk synthesis will be developed.

Objective 2

Several investigators will use dietary fat supplements to manipulate milk fat composition (CA, IL, OH, SC, SD, VA, WA, WI).  Experimental designs will utilize multiple levels of fat supplementation to develop dose response curves so that diet fat effects on milk fat composition may be quantitated.  Stage of lactation of cows will be defined in order to remove confounding effects of adipose mobilization on milk fat composition.  Correlary studies will examine effects of adipose tissue mobilization on milk fat composition.

In addition to level of supplemental fat, effects of sources of dietary fat are an experimental objective, e.g., whole oil seeds (SD), intestinally-infused vegetable oils (IL), fish oils (OH,VA), varying fatty acid chain-length (OH), and ruminally-protected unsaturated fat (OH, SC).  Factors modifying biohydrogenating activity of ruminal microorganisms will be characterized (CA, OH, SC, VA).  Because digestibility of fat declines at high intakes and thereby influences amount of fat available to tissues, studies to define factors limiting fatty acid absorption and to improve fatty acid digestibility will be appropriate contributions to this objective (CA, IL, OH, VA, WI).

Objective 3

B. Milk and fat from the core group of feeding studies (Objective 2) will be sent to several of
     the cooperating milk processing research groups to evaluate changes in milk fat composition
     on manufacturing quality and consumer acceptance.  These interactions will be developed
     and strengthened through the regional process.

Milk obtained from studies addressing Objective 2 will be utilized to examine effects on quality of ice cream (IL) and yield and flavor of low fat cheese (SD).  Influence of increasing milk fat unsaturation on quantification of milk fat by infrared spectroscopy will be quantified (SD).  The quality and sensory attributes of low cholesterol dairy products produced from butter oil by steam-stripping will be evaluated (MN).  Quantification of flavor characteristics in modified fat products by gas-liquid chromatography will be developed (MN).  In model systems, the emulsification of modified milk fat and its subsequent effects on milk gel formation will be studied.  Emulsification will be evaluated microscopically, and gel formation properties will be assessed by formagraph and rheological measures.  The behavior of fats in powders as a component of food products will be evaluated in terms of reconstitution properties and sensory acceptability (MN).  To gain information on functionality of modified milk fats, solid fat content will be determined by nuclear magnetic resonance, and temperature of phase transitions will be determined by differential scanning calorimetry (WI).  Positional arrangements of fatty acids on the glycerol molecule will be determined when appropriate (CA, WI).  Milk from all studies will be used to update a national data base on seasonal, regional, and feeding effects on composition of the milk supply (NY).

Regionality

D. Regionality will bring together scientists competent in all aspects of our concern for
     modifying milk fat: 1) metabolic regulation of synthesis; 2) predicting milk composition on
     product quality, and applying new knowledge to product development.

Cooperation among investigators will be encouraged in at least three ways: 1) Feeding studies will be regionalized to provide a sufficiently large data base to develop appropriate response curves to fat supplementation and to further develop existing whole animal metabolic models to include effects of dietary fat on milk composition (CA, WA); 2) unique methodologies will be shared to obtain the maximum information from each study; e.g., some laboratories lack the capability to separate the cis/trans isomers of unsaturated fatty acids; this can be provided by other labs through sharing of samples; 3) milk from feeding studies will be provided to cooperating laboratories to determine effects of changed milk fat composition on product quality (CA, IL, MN, NY, SD).  Regional cooperation will enhance exchange of milk products for study.  Thus, utilization of sophisticated equipment (NMR) and methodologies (triacylglycerol structure, sensory studies) will be enhanced and applied to a wider range of modified milk fats than would be possible in any individual laboratory.

E. Interdependency of states is illustrated by sharing of information from methodologies unique
     to certain laboratories
 
a. liver biopsy (WI)
b. intestinal cannulae (IL)
c. separation of cis/trans isomers of milk fatty acids (CA, OH)
d. rheology (MN) and nuclear magnetic resonance (WI) of milk fat
e. computer simulation modeling of milk fat composition responses to dietary fat changes (CA,
    WA)
f.  collaborative development of mammary cell culture systems (IL, VA)
 
 
 

Uniform Methodologies 
 

Feeding trials will be designed to develop dose response curves to diet manipulation.  All fat quantification will include total fatty acid analysis.  Milk fatty acid analysis will utilize techniques that preserve and quantify short chain fatty acids (from butyric), and will include separation of the cis/trans isomers of C18:1.

ORGANIZATION

The technical committee will consist of a chair, secretary, and regional administrative adviser.  The executive committee will consist of these three persons and the previous chair, and will be the official nominating body.  The Chair and secretary will be elected by the voting members from within their ranks.  The Chair is responsible for planning and conducting the annual meeting, for submission of the project annual report, and for facilitating and ensuring effective communication and cooperation among participants.  The secretary is responsible for recording minutes and distributing them prior to the Chair preparing the annual reports.  Individual station members are responsible for preparing brief annual reports and distributing them to other participants prior to the annual meeting.  Additional committees composed of voting or non-voting members may be appointed as needed to solve particular technical problems, to assist in communication with the project, or to report project findings to other interesting parties.

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Milk Fat Roundtable.  J. Dairy Sci. 72:3109-3115.

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PROJECT LEADERS:
 
 
 
 
   Investigator   Institution and Specialization Specific to 
  Objectives
   E.J.De Peters   Univ. of California, Davis 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   R.L.Baldwin   Univ. of California,Davis 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism 
   Bruce German   Milk Fat Composition
   J.K.Drackley   University of Illinois, Urbana 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   R. Jimenez-Flores   University of Illinois, Urbana 
  Dairy Products
   B.A.Crooker   University of Minnesota 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   J.Linn   University of Minnesota 
  Animal Nutrition
   D.Otterby   University of Minnesota 
  Animal Nutrition
   M.Stern   University of Minnesota 
  Animal Nutrition
   D.Smith   University of Minnesota 
  Dairy Products
   D.Barbano   Cornell University 
  Dairy Products
   D.L.Plamquist   Ohio Agric. Res. and Dev. Center 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   T.C.Jenkins   Clemson University 
  Animal Nutrition and Meatabolism
   D.J.Schingoethe   South Dakota State University 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   R.J.Baer   South Dakota State University 
  Dairy Products
   J.H.Herbein   Virginia Tech 
  Animnal Nutrition and Metabolism
   Susan Duncan    Virginia Tech 
  Dairy Products
   J.P.McNamara   Washington State University 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   J.H.Harrison   Washington State University 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   J.K.Hiller   Washington State University 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
   R.R.Grummer   University of Wisconsin, Madison 
  Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
 
 
 

RESOURCES
 
 
 
 Institution
SY 
PY
TY
 Univ. of California
.35
0
0
 Univ. of Illionis
.30
0
0
 Univ. of Minnesota
.10
0
0
 Cornell Univ.
.05
.25
.50
 Ohio Agri. Res. & 
 Dev. Center
.60
0
.50
 Clemson Univ.
.10
.10
.15
 South Dakota State 
 Univ.
.35
.49
.75
 Virginia tech
.10
.50
.20
 Washington State 
 Univ.
.40
0
.50
 Univ. of Wisconsin
.10
0
0