Abstract
Pork is traditionally low in docosahexanoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) and deficient in omega-3 fats for a balanced human diet. DHA as triglycerides was commercially prepared from the microalgae Schizochytrium and injected into fresh pork loins. Treatments of a mixed brine control (CON), 3.1% sunflower oil in mixed brine (SF) and a 3.1% DHA oil in mixed brine (DHA) were injected into pork loins at 10 mL/100 gand grilled at 205°C. After cooking, the CON and SF pork loins contained 0.03 to 0.05 mg DHA per gram of pork and the DHA injected loins contained approximately 1.46 mg DHA per gram. The appearance, odor, oxidation rates and sensory taste, as judged by a trained panel, determined the DHA injected meat to be, `slightly desirable’ and gave lower ‘off odour’ scores relative to the CON and SF injected pork. Pork can be fortified with DHA oil to 146 mg per 100 g serving, which would meet half the recommended omega 3 fatty acid requirements and would be acceptable in taste.
Highlights
Pork is viewed as a lean healthy food, providing good nutrition; there are concerns about the quantity and types of fat it possesses
To improve the omega-3 nutritional content of pork, researchers have fed plants such as, flax [6], soybeans and canola [7] which are high in α-linolenic acid; α-linolenic acid is only weakly converted to Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) [5]
The injection of pork loins with 3.1% DHA in a tripolyphosphate brine mixture appears to be well accepted by trained taste panellist
Summary
Pork is viewed as a lean healthy food, providing good nutrition; there are concerns about the quantity and types of fat it possesses. Humans require the essential fatty acids omega-6 linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) and omega-3 α-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3) in their diet. Human adults are recommended to consume at least 1 g per day of omega-3 fat for proper cardiovascular health [2,3]. The long chain omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n-3), is important, since it comprises ~14% of the cerebral cortex [4,5]. To improve the omega-3 nutritional content of pork, researchers have fed plants such as, flax [6], soybeans and canola [7] which are high in α-linolenic acid; α-linolenic acid is only weakly converted to DHA [5]. Pork can be selectively enriched with DHA by feeding fish oils such as tuna [8] or by feeding microalgae biomass Schizochytricium [9]. The option of directly injecting the DHA into the meat as a brine marinade, may overcome some of these issues
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