Diet change could boost benefits of eating lamb

Meat and milk exports could be made healthier for consumers by modifying the diet of sheep, scientists say.

AgResearch grasslands scientists said inserting fatty acids into ryegrass - the mainstay of sheep fodder - could improve the nutritional benefits for people eating those sheep.

The scientists at AgResearch's Palmerston North grasslands centre have tested their theory by dosing lambs with vegetable oils, which boosted their carcass quality.

Changing the diet of sheep changed the fatty acids produced in their milk and meat, increasing the levels of "good" fatty acids.

The sheep fed with oil had better feed efficiency than animals which did not receive the polyunsaturated fats: performing the same on 16 per cent less feed.

The finding could allow more sheep to be farmed per hectare and the scientists are now trying to find a way to deliver more of the desirable fatty acids in forage.

If unsaturated fatty acid levels in lamb can be lifted in a natural way it is likely to be sought by affluent consumers worldwide.

- NZPA