title: Seasonal variation in the fatty acid composition of milk available at retail in the United Kingdom and implications for dietary intake.
abstract: Milk and dairy products are major sources of fat in the human diet, but there are few detailed reports on the fatty acid composition of retail milk, trans fatty acids in particular, and how these change throughout the year. Semi-skimmed milk was collected monthly for one year from five supermarkets and analysed for fatty acid composition. Relative to winter, milk sold in the summer contained lower total saturated fatty acid (SFA; 67 vs 72 g/100g fatty acids) and higher cis-monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA; 23 vs 21 g/100g fatty acids) and total trans fatty acid (6.5 vs 4.5 g/100g fatty acids) concentrations. Concentrations of most trans-18:1 and -18:2 isomers also exhibited seasonal variation. Results were applied to national dietary intakes, and indicated that monthly variation in the fatty acid composition of milk available at retail has limited influence on total dietary fatty acid consumption by UK adults.
authors.affiliation: Division of Food Production and Quality, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 6AR, United Kingdom. k.e.kliem@reading.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kirsty E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Kliem
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Shingfield
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Livingstone
authors.forename: D Ian
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Givens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000032:analysis*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000191:economics; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012621:Seasons; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids