Consumer acceptance of dairy products with a saturated fatty acid–reduced, monounsaturated fatty acid–enriched content

Supplementation of the dairy cow diet with plant oil, oilseeds, or marine lipids can be used to partially replace the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content of ruminant milk with mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and, to a more limited extent, poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). It has been shown that consumption of modified dairy products, in which SFA was partially replaced with MUFA or PUFA, had a beneficial effect on plasma lipid markers of cardiovascular disease risk. Replacement of regular dairy products with SFA-reduced alternatives is one approach that could facilitate achievement of the SFA dietary recommendations for human health, while minimizing the necessity for consumers to make significant changes to their habitual diet.  In dietary formulation, oleic acid–rich lipids can be included in the dairy cow diet. However, the question is how does this manipulation affect consumer acceptance. The objective of a study by Dr O. Markey and colleagues, which they published in the Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 100 of 2017, page 7953 to 7966, was therefore to study consumer acceptance of the modified products. The title of their paper was: Consumer acceptance of dairy products with a saturated fatty acid–reduced, monounsaturated fatty acid–enriched content. 

In their study, they evaluated consumer acceptance of SFA-reduced, MUFA (modified) milk, Cheddar cheese, and butter when compared with control and commercially available comparative samples. The effect of providing nutritional information about the modified cheese was also evaluated. A total of 115 consumers rated samples for overall liking (appearance, flavour, and texture) using 9-point hedonic scales.

Although no significant differences were found between the milk samples, the modified cheese was liked significantly less than a regular-fat commercial alternative for overall liking and liking of specific modalities. Consumers also had a lower liking of the texture score compared with the control cheese. The provision of health information significantly increased the purchase intent and overall liking of the modified cheese compared with tasting the same samples in a blinded manner. Significant differences were also evident between the butter samples for overall liking and modalities of liking; all of the samples were significantly more liked than the commercial butter and sunflower oil spread. 

In conclusion, this study illustrated that consumer acceptance of SFA-reduced, MUFA–enriched dairy products was dependent on product type. Future research should consider how optimization of the textural properties of fatty acid–modified (and fat-reduced) cheese might enhance consumer acceptance of this product. General comment: Although this type of work should continue, it is necessary to mention that the relationship of SFA with cardiovascular diseases has not been proven.