Conjugated linoleic acid in Canadian dairy and beef products

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a dietary fatty acid produced by ruminant animals and exhibits promising beneficial health effects. CLA has been ide ntified as having anticancer, antiatherogenic, and body fat reducing effect s. There are no published data on the CLA content of Canadian beef and dair y products. The purpose of this study was to assess the level and type of C LA, isomers found in commercial beef and dairy products. Under the present experimental conditions only the Delta 9c,11t-18:2 isomer was detected. Oth er minor isomers, which may be present, were not determined by the method u sed in this study. Levels of CLA ranged between 1.2 and 6.2 mg/g of Fat or 0.001-4.3 mg/g or mg/ml of sample. On the basis of a usual serving size, le vels of CLA ranged between 0.03 and 81.0 mg per serving. It is concluded th at the Delta 9c,11t-18:2 isomer is present in dairy and beef products and l evels when expressed per gram of fat are not significantly different among products.