Modifying milk and meat fat quality through feed changes

Abstract

Feeding is the major factor affecting the quality of sheep products (milk and meat). The feeding strategiesuseful for increasing the levels of healthy fatty acids (FA), such as conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3FA, in milk and meat in the human diet are reported. The addition of supplements rich in oils and thelevel and quality of forage seem to be valuable tools for influencing the fatty acid composition of milk andlamb meat. The use of alternative feed resources such as grape pomace, rich in phenolic compounds, insheep and lamb diets and their effects on meat FA composition and oxidative stability are also discussed.