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'}'>' Hrafrat BKRhiKm HIMMW HIllMfjI wi§ 1 m .••';"' NKiaraM j Hi J0B HBRL pi « ffK HI(BHMi HUB .:.: •' JmmKGBWR ,, H Hi 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 " 1 fWJS ..;•, En WMww I I ; H Sal IS ^•••'.'•''v.: --i ;lKn 11 BRnH. IB I ;«A'. I ! HW1I 5HHB