Trouble has been churning online for months, but now scientists have warned that it could become a public health issue, and have blamed an increase in the use of palm oil.
Credit: Mitshu E+
Dairy farmers in Canada have convened an emergency committee to investigate a ‘Buttergate’ scandal, after thousands of consumers complained that their blocks have become hard and unspreadable.
Trouble has been churning online for months, but now scientists have warned that it could become a public health issue, and have blamed an increase in the use of palm oil.
The saga began with a question posed on Twitter by Canadian cookbook author Julie Van Rosendaal: "Have you noticed it’s no longer soft at room temperature?"
Hundreds of people responded from across the country saying they were suffering similar issues.
Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University looked into the claims and said that “disturbing reports are now pointing at some practices on the farm that may have altered the quality of the butter we buy.”
Something is up with our butter supply, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. Have you noticed it’s no longer soft at room temperature? Watery? Rubbery? pic.twitter.com/AblDzGiRQY
— Julie Van Rosendaal (@dinnerwithjulie) February 5, 2021
In an opinion piece for CTV News, Dr Charlebois said that due to the rising demand for butter during lockdown (a 12 per cent increase in 2020) farmers had been giving their cows energy supplements, often in the form of palm oil.
“To explain it simply, palm oil given to dairy cows increases the proportion of saturated fat in milk compared to unsaturated fat, thus increasing the melting point of butter,” he said.
“This explains why butter made from cows fed with palm oil remains difficult to spread at room temperature. So, if you wondered why butter is harder at room temperature, this is likely the most plausible reason why some of the butter in Canada seems to stay harder at room temperature.”
But there is a public health issue at play, he argued.
“Palm oil may increase certain heart disease risk factors in some people,” said Dr Charlebois.
“The effects of palm oil production on the environment, health and lives of Indigenous people in different parts of the world are well documented and deeply concerning.”
In response, The Dairy Farmers of Canada, a lobbying group, has convened an expert committee to look into the issue, but have defended the practice.
“Palm products, including those derived from palm oil, are sometimes added to dairy cows’ rations in limited amounts to increase the energy density of cow diets if needed,” they said in a statement.
“Dairy farmers in other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia also use this supplement.
“Dairy farmers are uncompromising when it comes to quality and follow some of the most stringent standards in the world to uphold that commitment.”
Dr Charlebois concluded: “A Buttergate is not what the industry needs, or what Canadians deserve. Let us hope the dairy industry can clean itself up before its moral contract with Canadians is permanently damaged.”
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