Characteristics of cheese from Bergamasca breed ewes supplemented with linseed oil or meal

• Grant number: 13/09425-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Edson Ramos de Siqueira
• Grantee: Caroline Nair Ramirez Braga
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

There is a huge concern of consumers about the quality and safety of products and animal by-products. This trend has encouraged the adoption of production systems aimed at better product quality, and new alternatives to improve the quality of milk, either through the production system adopted and/or adding different ingredients in animal diets. The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is excellent for human health and according to several researchers, it presents a nutraceutical effect, acting as an anti-carcinogenic. However, there are little researches on the addition of linolenic acid in the diet of cheese ewes. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the production responses of Bergamasca ewes in lactation for the production of cheese. They will be fed linseed oil and meal. The experiment will be carried at Ewe Milk Production and Research Unit, the University of Veterinary Medicine and Animal, UNESP, Botucatu Campus, SP state, with 75 Bergamasca ewes, which are approximately 2.5 and 3.5 years old. These will be distributed into three types of treatments: A) ewe supply with concentrate, without linseed; B) ewe supply with concentrate, with 3% of linseed oil and C) ewe supply with concentrate, with 15% of linseed meal. The following variables will be evaluated: cheese centesimal composition and fatty acid profile, cheese texture profile, cheese sensory aspects, and shelf life. (AU)