Major fatty acids and proximate composition of dairy products

Data are reported on the major fatty acids and moisture, protein, fat, lactose, and ash content of several important dairy products, including major cheeses, presently available to the consumer. Samples of milk products, cheeses, wheys produced in processing, and the original milks from which the products were made were obtained from dairy processing plants. Samples of cheeses were also obtained from retail markets in six geographic areas of the United States. Nonfat fluid whole milk contained amounts of protein, lactose, and ash similar to those found in fluid whole milk. The fatty acid distribution of milk fat was not appreciably altered by the processing employed for this study. Protein and fat values were quite constant among samples of each cheese. No lactose was detected in the ripened cheeses. Mean fatty acid patterns for the different cheeses were not appreciably different from each other. The butyric acid (4:0) in the cheeses showed the greatest sample variation. The cheeses did not contain appreciably different proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Procedures for converting data on fatty acid methyl ester to fatty acids (free acids or triglycerides) as weight percentages of the food are presented.