Free Fatty Acid Content of Fresh Milk as Related to Portions of Milk Drawn

Abstract

Sumamry Various portions of milk as drawn from different cows, representing five breeds and different periods of lactation, were analyzed for free fatty acid content by utilizing an extraction procedure to obtain the fat for titration. Three portions were obtained, with about 85% of the milk drawn being in the second portion. Measurable quantities of free fatty acids were found in all samples analyzed. Generally, the trend was for the first-drawn milk to be the highest and the last-drawn milk to be the lowest in acid degree. However, for individual cows late in lactation there was a tendency for all three portions of milk to exhibit more nearly the same acid degree. When the fat content was nearly that of normal milk no correlation was noted between fat content of the milk and acid degree of the milk fat. The same portions of milk from individual cows, i.e., first, second, or third, were found to vary widely in acid degree values from day to day. Also, milk from different cows varied daily in free fatty acid content.