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1*1 Agricultureand Agricultureet
Agri-FoodCanada AgroahmentaireCanada
ENRICHING PORK WITH OMEGA-3 FATS
A new value added marketingtrend is increasing the to pigs. Nowourfocus is on developing a successful
omega-3 fatty acid content in food products aimed to flaxseed feeding program to enrich porkwith omega-3
improve cardiovascular health. Omega-3 fattyacids fattyacids and evaluating the quality and acceptability of
are not onlyassociated with heart health, but may also porkend products."
improve the immune system and reduce the risk of
developing some cancers. Eggs, meat and dairy products Ultimatelythe overall goal of the research is to develop
enriched with omega-3 fattyacids are now available to a system which consistently produces high quality
the Canadian consumer. These products are enriched by porkwith a verifiably enhanced fatty acid profile.
feeding animalsflax seed orcanola, which are sources of Howeverfeeding the flaxseed mixture to pigs is not a
omega-3 fattyacids in the form of alpha-linolenic straightforward process.
acid (ALA).
"There are limits to the level and duration thatflax can
Scientists atAgriculture andAgri-Food Canada (AAFC) befed before it negatively impacts animal growth and
are helping the industry evaluate and develop new feed utilization," emphasizes Dr. Dugan. "Oursecond
systemsto enrich food products with omega-3 fats. experiment, conducted atthe Prairie Swine Centre,
Drs. Mike Dugan and JenniferAalhus,AAFC scientists at indicates flax can represent up to at least 15% of the
the Lacombe Research Centre inAlberta are collaborating dietwhen processed with field peas. In addition, similar
with Dr. Ruurd Zijlstra atthe University ofAlberta and levels of omega-3 fatty acids in backfat can be attained
Drs. John Patience and Denise Beaulieu atthe Prairie by eitherfeeding a high flaxseed dietfora short period or
Swine Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on a series a lower flax diet for a longer period. But feeding a lower
of four projects feeding flaxseed to pigs to enrich pork flaxseed dietfor a longer period appears to reduce the
with omega-3 fatty acids. This research is funded by variation between animals."
the SaskatchewanAgriculture Development Fund and
Flax 2015. While feeding flaxseed to pigs enriches omega-3 fatty
acids in pork, levels of omega-3 fatty acids can differ
"Flaxseed contains about 40 percent oil and is one from tissue totissue and higher levels can lead to
of nature's richestoilseed sources of omega-3 fatty problems with pork processing and can negatively affect
acids," explains Dr. Dugan. "Ourfirstexperimentwas porkquality, payability and oxidative stability.
conducted atthe UniversityofAlberta where a technique The third animal trial was conducted at the Prairie Swine
ofco-processing flaxseed with field peas was developed Centre to establish bestfeeding practices toenrich pork
to maximize the availability of omega-3 fatty acids fed cuts with targeted levels of omega-3 fatty acids required
Canada
to claim an omega-3 enrichment (i.e. 300 mg per 100 g "In reality, much ofthe fish long chain omega-3 fats are
of pork).These analysesare currentlyongoing and involve due to theirconsumption of marine microalgae," states
the use otspecialized tacilitiesfor slaughterand intensive Dr. Meadus. "It is this microalgae that industry is actually
meatquality, payabilityand fattyacid analyses atMFC's using to produce pure DHAfor use in human infant
Lacombe Research Centre. formula. Human nutrition research hasfound thatthe
longerchain omega-3 fatty acids (derived from fish) are
Based on the results of the firstthree trials, a fourth more effective after the short-chain omega-3 dietaryfat
animal trial will be conducted in the fall of 2008 to levels (derived from plants) are balanced."
establish the optimal start and finish weights for pigs
to achieve desired levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Research atMFC's Lacombe Research Centre will
continue to testthe effect ofthe dietary DHA lipids on the
In a similar study, Drs. Jon Meadus and Bethany Uttaro, genetic response in the pigs using selected biomarkers
fellowMFC scientists atthe Lacombe Research Centre, forfat metabolism, fatsynthesis and disease inflammation.
are collaborating with Drs. Dugan andAalhus to examine Futureworkwill comparethe pure DHAwiththe mixtureof
ways to enrich long chain omega-3 fattyacids in pork omega-3 oilsfrom fish extracts and various anti-oxidants.
byfeeding pigs algae or algae derived DHA (Docosa-
hexaenoic fattyacid) or alternatively, by injecting a brine "We are whatwe eat" exclaims Dr. Meadus.
solution offood grade DHA into pork loins.The goal is to "Our research will continue tofind innovative ways to
reach 100 mg DHA perserving dose of a 100 g chop. integrate omega-3 fatty acids intothefood we eatfor
the benefit of Canadians."
Their research has established that bacon made
from pigs fed up to 20 g of DHAper day is acceptable
according to a limited Home UseTest (HUT) surveyfor To learn more about research conducted by
MFC
flavour and odour scores.Also acceptable were pork scientists, please visit
loins injected with 100 mg DHA in a brine solution as www.agr.gc.ca/scienceandinnovation.com.
compared with loins injected with sunflower oil. However
future work is needed on improving the oxidative stability
of these products.
©
HerMajestytheQueeninRightofCanada.2008
Cat No A52-137/5-2009E
ISBN978-1-100-11538-2
AAFCNo. 10855E
Aussioffertenfrangaissousletitre:Enrichirlaviandedeporeen
acidesgrasomega-3.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada
http://archive.org/details/enrichingporkwit10855cana
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