Data deficits and transparency: What led to Canada's 'buttergate'

Background: During the fall of 2020, consumers began to question the consistency of Canadian butter. Many consumers expressed their dissatisfaction on social media the following winter. For months, Canadian dairy industry stakeholders debated the on-farm practices and processing of dairy products on social media. International media amplified the concerns of consumers. Though a long-held practice, the use of palm oil derivatives as feed supplements for dairy herds was questioned due to its environmental track-record. Scope and approach: We collected 84 samples of butter from across Canada to test melting points per palmitic acid and oleic acid content. The fatty acid composition of butter fats was determined using gas chromatography (GC) analysis. However, a full investigation into the quality of end products would be virtually impossible due to the nature of the dairy supply chain in Canada. Key findings and conclusions: We found that higher palmitic acid and oleic acid content increased the melting points of butter. However, the culture and structure of the Canadian dairy industry is such that it's impossible to compare against benchmarks due to large data deficiencies related to industry standards.