Olive Pulp-Enriched Diet Benefits Cattle and Reduces Costs

New research has demonstrated that dairy and beef cattle fed a diet supplemented with olive pulp produced milk and beef with favorable changes in the fatty acid profiles compared to a standard diet. 

Researchers in Andalusia also found that substituting ten percent of the cereals and soybean meal used in conventional calf feed and five percent of the typical dry feed for dairy cows with olive pulp lowered costs for ranchers and dairy farmers by nine percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. 

Furthermore, sensory testing of the beef and milk produced from cows fed the diet supplemented with olive pulp was received favorably by consumers. 

See Also: Olive Pomace Ash Shows Promise as Eco-Friendly Cement Substitute

The research team, which included DCOOP, Spain’s largest olive oil cooperative, incorporated olive pulp into the cattle’s diet for 45 to 60 days, providing sufficient time for ruminal adaptation before taking milk and meat samples.

The researchers identified no significant differences in the composition or quantity of the milk produced by cattle after eating the olive pulp-enriched diet. 

Although they did observe a favorable change in fatty acid profile of the milk, “with an increase in the content of fatty acids that current scientific knowledge attributes to anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties in the human body.”

Meanwhile, the research teams noted that beef cattle fed the olive pulp-enriched diet did not demonstrate significant differences in growth rate or final weight. However, the diet also appeared to modify the fatty acid profile of the intramuscular fat “in a way that was beneficial to human health.”

The changes in the fatty acid profile also altered the profile of its volatile compounds, resulting in a slightly different smell and flavor for the meat. 

“In the sensory analysis, consumers gave higher scores to the smell and flavor of the meat from animals fed olive pulp,” added Carmen Avilés, a researcher at the University of Córdoba’s ceiA3 lactology and meat technology group, which was also involved in the studies.

The research comes amid a broader effort in Andalusia, the world’s largest olive oil-producing region by a significant margin, to create a circular agri-food economy with considerable emphasis on olive milling byproducts.

Millions of metric tons of partially defatted and pitted olive pulp are produced annually in Spain and have historically been viewed as a waste product, incurring costs for treatment and disposal.

However, a wide range of new research projects are finding ways to recycle byproducts from olive oil production, creating new revenue streams for producers.

A 2024 study published by researchers in Italy had already found that incorporating olive pomace and olive leaves into the diets of sheep, another ruminant, also lowered feeding costs without negatively impacting health or milk quality.  

Separate research also identified polyphenols extracted from olive milling waste as a promising ingredient in aquaculture feed, specifically for sea bream.

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