Incorporating omega‐3 in the food chain – why, where and how?

Lean Australian red meat cuts are low in fat and have a ratio of cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acids (SFA) to cis-monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) to cis-polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of around 24:40:14. This is less cholesterol-raising than was earlier estimated, because cuts are now leaner and part of the SFA is stearic acid (that does not raise plasma cholesterol). and there are several other (cholesterol-lowering) PUFA as well as linoleic acid present. Low-fat, predominantly monounsaturated lean meat cuts have been shown to be acceptable in cholesterol-lowering diets. This does not mean that meat eaten with the fat on will not raise plasma cholesterol. Meat is low in sodium, high in potassium and has been shown in human dietary experiments not to raise the blood pressure. Meat is high in protein and contributes to weight reduction by increasing satiety and helping reduce intake in ad-lib weight-reducing diets. Overweight increases the risk of increased plasma cholesterol, increased blood pressure and diabetes. Meat is a good source of bioavailable iron. The hypothesis that people with high iron stores have increased risk of heart disease has not been confirmed in a number of epidemiological studies. Human studies suggest that dietary long-chain omega-3 PUFAs are protective against sudden cardiac death, consistent with lower risk of ventricular fibrillation. Most fat in the human diet is a mixture of triglycerides. The pattern of fatty acids attached to the glycerol has been known since 1956 to affect the plasma cholesterol concentration.1 The hardest evidence comes from strictly controlled metabolic ward experiments with metabolically normal human subjects. Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) raise the plasma cholesterol, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) lower it, and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) have an intermediate, neutral effect.1,2 The cholesterol-raising effect of SFAs is about twice as potent as the lowering effect of PUFAs. This is expressed in Ancel Keys classic equation:2Δcholesterol = 2.74 ΔSFAs − 1.3 ΔPUFAs (where Δ = change; plasma cholesterol is in mg/100 mL and fatty acids are estimated as percentage of total daily calories). Hundreds of human experiments have since been conducted, many papers published, and we now have meta-analyses which strongly confirm the original findings.3,4 This is still the main message for public health education, but for health professionals, there are further modifications. Serum cholesterols nowadays are usually expressed in SI units, as mmol/L, so the numbers in the original Keys equation need to be divided by 38.6. Beyond serum total cholesterol, a knowledge of LDL-cholesterol (increases risk) and HDL-cholesterol (decreases risk) and triglycerides can better predict risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Individual SFAs differ in their cholesterol-raising effect. PUFAs have different physiological effects if they belong to the omega-6 or omega-3 series. And different plant-derived oils, which contain predominantly MUFAs, do not all have the same effect on serum cholesterol, presumably because of the other lipids they contain (phytosterols, squalene).5 This paper outlines the effect of dietary components on risk of cardiovascular disease and considers the role of red meat in this context. Of the SFAs, only lauric (12:0), myristic (14:0) and palmitic (16:0) raise plasma cholesterol levels. Myristic is the most potent in this regard,6 and palmitic is the most abundant of all three in foods. SFAs with 10 or fewer carbon atoms (in medium chain triglycerides) do not appear to raise serum cholesterol.7 At the other end of the series, it has been repeatedly found that stearic acid (18:0) has little or no cholesterol-raising effect.8,9 It is rapidly converted to oleic acid in vivo. To estimate the effect of fatty acid pattern on serum cholesterol, it is better to refer to fatty acids with carbon chains of 12:0 + 14:0 + 16:0, rather than total SFA. Among the PUFAs, by far the most abundant in foods and oils is linoleic acid, cis 18:2, n-6. Hence, any effect on cholesterol attributed to PUFAs is due very largely to linoleic acid. The intake of PUFAs from food reported in the Australian 1995 National Nutrition Survey of 12.5 g/day10 was around 10 times greater than that reported for the linolenic acid (18:3), and about 100 times greater than that reported for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA 20:5) + docosapentaenoic acid (DPA 22:5) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA 22:6)—of about 130 mg/day.11 Linoleic acid is the only fatty acid known to lower plasma and LDL-cholesterol levels even when it is added to the diet, increasing fat and energy intakes.1,12 Other common PUFAs, linolenic (18:3, omega-3)7 and arachidonic13 (20:4, n-6), do lower plasma cholesterol, but this is of little practical importance because of their low levels in most foods. High-dosefish oils may raise plasma LDL-cholesterol a little. This is perhaps due to SFA in the fish oil, together with EPA and DHA, but they raise HDL-cholesterol too.7 Beneficial effects of fatty fish and fish oils on cardiovascular disease are not from plasma cholesterol lowering, but from effects that include reducing the risk of ventricular arrhythmias and the tendency to thrombosis. All that has been written above assumes that the fatty acids have double bonds in the usual, natural CIS configuration. But if the MUFA or PUFA is in the TRANS configuration, the effect on serum cholesterol is similar to that of SFA14 and, with high intakes, HDL-cholesterol may be lowered as well.15 Most human experiments have been conducted with trans 9, 18:1, called elaidic acid. Trans-unsaturated fatty acids occur naturally in small percentages in ruminant meat and milk fat. They are produced by microorganisms in the rumen. The main natural trans-fatty acid in red meat is trans 11, 18:1, called vaccenic acid. Trans-fatty acids are also produced during hydrogenation of vegetable and fish oils to make harder fats in food processing. Here the isomers are chiefly trans 9 and trans 10, 18:1. Around half of the trans-fatty acids in the British diet16 and Australian diet17 were estimated to come from animal foods, and half from margarines and other processed fats.16 With reduction of the industrially produced trans-fatty acids since then, the proportion from ruminant fat may be higher. Effects of different fatty acids on total-cholesterol levels are approximately mirrored by effects on LDL-cholesterol levels. As to HDL-cholesterol levels, SFAs 12:0, 14:0 and 16:0 raise it, and unsaturated fatty acids have little effect on it.18 Fasting plasma triglycerides are lowered by omega-3 PUFAs. Effects of fatty acids on different plasma LDL- and HDL-cholesterol are summarised in Table 1. There is now a vast body of literature on the role of fatty fish, fish oils and long-chain omega-3 PUFAs in the prevention and amelioration of heart disease, as well as in supporting the development of infants and having a positive impact on several chronic diseases and mental function. This summary concentrates on CHD and long-chain omega-3 PUFA provided in diet as fatty fish (and less on the more numerous human experiments with pharmacological doses of fish oil). Interest started with observations in Greenland Eskimos living traditional lifestyles, who had high intakes of animal fat but low incidence of CHD. Their animal fat was largely marine animals—fish, seal, etc. Dyerberg et al. in the 1970s found their plasma fatty acids contained unusually high amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA),19 and they suggested this reduced the tendency to thrombosis via an altered pattern of prostanoids.20 In the early 1980s, researchers reported that fatty fish, as well as fish oils (both rich in omega-3 PUFAs), produced a much greater reduction of plasma triglycerides and VLDL than oils or foods rich in n-6 linoleic acid.21 By the mid-1980s, there were two further major discoveries. Kromhout and colleagues (one of the Seven Country Study team) reported that in the Zutphen (Dutch) cohort, people who ate more fish (about 1/3 fatty) experienced significantly fewer CHD deaths.22 The mechanism was not via any of the known risk factors for CHD; possibly there was reduced platelet aggregation. They produced a recommendation for one or two fish dishes a week in dietary guidelines for the prevention of CHD.22 At about the same time, researchers in Australia were finding that rats fed dietary fat rich in PUFAs showed significantly fewer episodes of ventricular fibrillation when a coronary artery was occluded. The protective effect of tuna fish oil was stronger than sunflower seed oil, especially in the reperfusion phase.23 These animal experiments were confirmed by others in the United States, working with cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, that can be seen to contract rhythmically under the microscope. It was then found that polyunsaturated fat in the medium counteracts the effects of pharmacological agents that usually initiate arrhythmias.24 Since then, at least 13 cohort studies have been completed, involving over 200 000 subjects. Most studies found protective effects of fish, and these were significant in countries with high rates of CHD and in studies of high scientific quality.25 Two meta-analyses (with a somewhat different selection of studies) both found significantly lower relative risk of CHD death in regular fish eaters,26,27 and He et al.27 showed a striking dose–response relationship, where eating fish two to four times per week reduced the mortality risk to 0.77. From the animal experiments it would be expected that the effect of fatty fish consumption would be on prevention of sudden deaths due to ventricular fibrillation. This was indeed found in two intervention studies: with fish in Wales (the DART study),28 and with fish oil capsules in the Italian GISSI study.29 Later trials in patients with implanted cardioverter/defibrillators have not provided such clear answers,30,31 but these are very complex cases to manage. In the largest randomised controlled trial of patients with implanted cardioverter/defibrillators (n = 402), the trend in favour of fish oil was impressive but not statistically significant, although technical difficulties with recordings and poor compliance in taking the large fish oil capsules were reported.30 Recently, five expert bodies have made recommendations regarding omega-3 PUFA intakes. In 2004, the US Food and Drug Administration concluded that supportive, but not conclusive, research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 may reduce the risk of CHD. The Scientific Advisory Group of Food Standards Australia New Zealand likewise considered the evidence was probable that fatty fish containing omega-3 PUFAs reduces the risk of CHD. In 2003, the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation32 concluded that the evidence was convincing that fish and fish oils (EPA and DHA) reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The (Australian) National Heart Foundation33 advises that, to lower the risk of CHD in the general population, adults should consume two to three serves of fish (preferably oily fish) per week, thus obtaining 500 mg/day of marine omega-3 PUFA. The National Health and Medical Research Council's Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults (2003, pp. 117–122),10 as the third point in its 20 pieces of practical advice on fats, say ‘Try to include in your diet fish high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fats—for example, sardines, tuna, salmon and herring’. When considering any possible effects of long-chain omega-3 PUFAs, note that trials with fish oils use much higher intakes than are obtainable from ordinary diets. In trials with food relatively high in omega-3 PUFAs, the OPTILIP Study34,35 found reduced fasting plasma triglycerides but no change in haemostatic factors or insulin. The Adelaide and Perth study (which did not get an acronym)36 found no differences in blood pressure, insulin or lipids, although red cell PUFA increased 50%. All this advice is about EPA (20:5) and DHA (22:6), the predominant omega-3 PUFAs in fish oil and oily fish. The third long-chain omega-3 PUFA is docosapentaenoic (DPA, or 20:5). Its concentration is about one-sixth of that of EPA and DHA in fish, and little seems to be known about its biological activity. The averages of these three fatty acids in herring, mackerel, pilchards, salmon, sardines and tuna are: 20:5 = 8.25%, 22:5 = 1.43% and 22:6 = 6.55% total fatty acids.37 When eaten, cholesterol, the sterol in the cell membrane of land animals, tends to raise plasma cholesterol, but less than might be expected. About half of the plasma cholesterol is synthesised endogenously from acetate in the liver, and there is a feedback mechanism so that this is downregulated if more is absorbed. Effects of dietary cholesterol on plasma cholesterol are inconsistent,38 evidently affected by the fatty acid composition of the diet and varying between individuals.39 In shellfish, the sterols are not of the cholesterol form;40 chromatography shows that they are mostly phytosterols from seaweed. Earlier bans on oysters, for example, in cholesterol-lowering diets were based on a chemical method that did not differentiate other sterols from cholesterol. Phytosterols (β-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, brassicasterol) are the corresponding sterols of plant cell membranes. They have a very similar chemical structure to cholesterol, only differing in one or two extra carbons at the side-chain end of the molecule. They reduce absorption of cholesterol by competitive inhibition. This affects both dietary cholesterol and cholesterol excreted in the bile, which is normally partly re-absorbed. In purified form (and higher intake), they can lower plasma cholesterol by a larger percentage than dietary cholesterol raises it.41 Dietary fibre,42,43 even coffee,44 can affect plasma lipids, but the most important dietary factor, other than type of dietary fat, is excess energy, leading to overweight. Overweight people tend to have raised plasma triglycerides and higher total LDL-cholesterol and lower HDL-cholesterol.45 Weight reduction by diet and/or exercise will usually reduce their cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In 1981 Sullivan46 suggested that the lower incidence of CHD in premenopausal women, compared with men and postmenopausal women, could be due to higher iron stores in the latter two groups. A number of studies have since investigated this possibility. As red meat is a major source of bioavailable iron, this question is of potential concern for the safety of high intakes. The Institute of Medicine in its dietary reference intake (DRI) report on 14 nutrients,47 including iron, reviewed the literature on high iron status and CHD to determine the tolerable upper intake level. They found: Serum ferritin and CHD: three positive, five negative studies Transferrin saturation and CHD: all five studies negative Serum iron and CHD: all four studies negative Total iron binding capacity and CHD: all four studies negative Sempos explained why the US Food and Nutrition Board had concluded that there was not enough evidence to support the hypothesis.48 At least one of the positive studies was seriously flawed. Also, there is no consistent convincing evidence that having haemochromatosis, especially the heterozygous form, is associated with an increased risk of CHD. This was against the background that iron deficiency remains the most common nutritional deficiency in the USA.48 In the large West of Scotland pravastatin trial, genotypes for the haemochromatosis gene were assayed in 482 people who developed a CHD event and 1100 who did not.49 There were no significant differences. A recent trial of phlebotomy in 1277 US veterans with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease and 4.5-year follow up found no difference in outcome between phlebotomy and controls or with reduction of iron stores.50 Perhaps this topic can best be summed up by noting that the ANZ NRV report11 did not address the iron stores/CHD question. A recent paper by the Harvard epidemiologists Qi et al. suggests that dietary haem iron is a risk factor for CHD in women with type 2 diabetes.51 The three tables in the paper do not appear to show how much haem iron or meat (including pig meat) was recorded for the different quintiles. The authors themselves admit that residual confounding by saturated fat was unavoidable even after careful adjustment. The Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) Report10 presents the SFA and MUFA contents of lean red meat as quite low, especially in lean beef (total fat 1.8 g/100 g), and about equal, with smaller amounts of PUFA. Recent data on individual fatty acids in red meat52 expressed as percentages of total fatty acids suggest, for example that lean beef rump contains less cholesterol-raising SFAs and more PUFAs (Table 3). As per cent of total fatty acids, the values for: SFA (14:0 + 16:0) are 2.6 + 21.8 = 24.4% cis-MUFA (16:1 + 18:1) are 3.0 + 36.5 = 39.5% cis-PUFAs are 5.6 + 0.8 + 0.7 + 2.8 + 1.9 + 2.9 = 14.7% trans-fatty acids (18:1, 18:2 and 18:3) are 2.5 + 0.5 + 0.3 = 3.3% Most of the balance is stearic acid (13.2%) plus small amounts of 15:0, 17:0 and 14:1 fatty acids. The P/S ratio here is 0.60, whereas if the table in the Dietary Guidelines report is used, it would be only 0.22. Even if conjugated linoleic acid, 20:3, 20:5 and 22:6, are left out, the effective P/S for plasma cholesterol level is at least 10.3/24.4 = 0.42. The effect of red meat on plasma cholesterol in practice corresponds to what would be predicted from these recent Australian analyses of individual fatty acids in red meat cuts. Several controlled human studies find that lean red meat has a roughly neutral effect among foods on plasma cholesterol, suggesting it can be included in a cholesterol-lowering diet. A number of studies have shown the benefits of including lean red meat in prudent diets for cholesterol lowering. A group at St Thomas's Hospital London were able to reduce total- and LDL-cholesterol considerably in 15 free-living men with hyperlipidaemia on a diet, including increased P/S ratio and extra fruit and vegetables, that contained 180 g/day of lean red meat (8.5% fat). They concluded that providing care is taken to reduce total dietary fat, a moderate amount of meat and meat products may be included in a cholesterol-lowering diet.53 In Australia, Kestin et al. compared two fat-modified diets in 26 healthy men. One diet was vegetarian (LOV); the other contained 250 g/day lean meats (LOM). Total cholesterol fell 5% on diet LOM (10% on LOV). They concluded that a more widely accepted lean meat-containing prudent diet was almost as effective at lowering cholesterol levels as a plant-based prudent diet.54 Another Australian study involved 10 healthy subjects (men and women) given a very low-fat diet containing lean beef (500 g/day). Serum total cholesterol fell 20% and rose when beef dripping was added. The authors concluded that it was the beef fat, not lean beef itself, that was associated with elevations in cholesterol concentrations. The suggestion was that lean beef could be included in cholesterol-lowering diets (low saturated fat) provided that the meat was free of all visible fat.55 A further study in Texas, USA, gave 38 free-living men with hypercholesterolaemia a reduced-saturated-fat diet that included about 170 g either lean beef (8% fat) or chicken (7% fat) for five weeks. LDL-cholesterol fell 9% and 11% respectively, but the difference was not statistically significant. The authors concluded that lean beef and chicken were interchangeable in the NCEP Step 1 diet.56 In a long-term trial conducted in Chicago, Minneapolis and Johns Hopkins Lipid Clinic, 191 men with moderate hypercholesterolaemia were given 170 g/day of either lean red meat or lean white meat in their NCEP Step 1 diets. At the end of 36 weeks, LDL-cholesterol declined 1.7% and HDL-cholesterol increased 2.3% on the red meat; changes in the white meat group were not significantly different. (Lean red meat here, as is usual in the USA, was beef, veal or pork; lean white meat was poultry or fish.)57 Two other points are important about meat and plasma cholesterol. First, there is as much cholesterol in lean meat as in meat fat, chicken contains rather more cholesterol than beef, and kidney and liver contain four or five times more than muscle meat (see Table 2). These organs are richer in several good nutrients as well.37 Second, the fat of red meat has a more unfavourable fatty acid pattern than lean muscle meat. It contains more 14:0 and 16:0 SFA and less PUFA (see Table 3). By the method suggested above (omitting stearic acid), the P/S ratio in this lean meat is 0.42, while in the fat, it is 0.07. Of course, it contains about 20 times more total fatty acids than the lean muscle meat. This difference was first noted by Crawford,58 who compared the fatty acid patterns between very lean wild herbivores like and The to foods low in meat is a Australian analyses g in lean and British food tables similar for lean beef cuts the other lean red meat is rich in Australian for beef and mg/100 g for that about 9 The ratio is et blood of two of people with a moderate of One group ate 250 g/day of red meat for in of foods that the group was blood were significantly lower in the meat The authors suggest that the extra and in the meat may have added to the effect of less in reducing blood pressure. The against weight and the background papers the role of diet in the prevention and of and The report on the of a high body but does not a of which diets can be In the since the report was there has been research and much to find weight-reducing diets that are acceptable and The Total may much of its to the high protein of total energy and based this diet on their with diets reported in at least papers in the literature during the In one they report that over weeks, the diet in better changes in total- and in triglycerides and in blood compared with a diet, with no effects on or weight and in the men were not significantly different between the two possibly because of the of the et showed greater weight reduction with a protein intake of energy, compared with over a dietary Other have had similar with a dietary protein has been shown in human experiments to satiety and The for these changes have not been Low-fat, predominantly lean meat cuts have been shown to be acceptable in cholesterol-lowering diets. Meat is a good source of bioavailable iron, which does not appear to be a risk factor for heart disease. Meat is low in and high in and meat consumption does not appear to raise blood pressure. Overweight increases the risk of increased plasma cholesterol, increased blood pressure and diabetes. Meat is high in protein and contributes to weight reduction by increasing satiety and helping reduce energy intake in ad-lib weight-reducing diets.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of both sheep diet structure (pasture vs. pasture supplemented with food concentrate and hay), and saponified fat supplement (sunflower oil) in the diet, on the fatty acids (FA) profile in the cheese fat (cottage cheese and pressed cheese). 68 Tzurcana sheep were divided into 4 homogeneous groups (17 sheep/group) which were subsequently randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 diets tested: P : grazing with no supplement, PC : grazing and supplementing the diet with 400 g concentrate/day; PCF : PC ratio supplemented with 0.5 kg meadow hay; PCFG : PCF ratio supplemented with 80g/day saponified fat (4% of DM-saponified sunflower oil). Since no significant differences were found regarding milk’s fatty acid profile, between the PC and PCF sheep lots, the milk provided by the two groups was processed and analyzed as control sample. Supplementing grazing sheep diet with concentrate or concentrate plus meadow hay, even if it resulted in increased milk production it had a negative effect on nutritional quality of cheese fat obtained by processing milk. Thus, as compared with the control group where the diet was made up only of pasture, in the case of fat in dairy products there has been a significant increase of saturated fatty acids (SFA) share and a decreased content in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). PUFA concentrations and especially C18:2 cis -9, trans -11 (rumenic acid) and C18:3 n-3 (I±-linolenic acid) (ALA) increased significantly in cheese fat when sheep diet -which contained concentrate and hay- was supplemented with saponified fats (sunflower oil). Cheese’s physico-chemical and organoleptic properties were not affected significantly by the diet structure and the fatty acid profile of their fat, respectively.

Dietary recommendations are a key element in the management of cardiovascular disease. Evidence is mounting that certain dietary patterns can influence cardiovascular health by modifying risk factors such as obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, as well as factors involved in systemic inflammation, insulin sensitivity, oxidative stress, endothelial function, thrombosis, and cardiac rhythm.1,2 In recent years, numerous dietary fads have emerged, in part as a response to the rising prevalence of obesity in the United States.3 In the present study, we review the various dietary portfolios that have emerged in the literature and the major studies that investigated their effectiveness in modifying cardiovascular risk. Currently, the typical American diet is estimated to derive 49% of its calories from carbohydrates, 34% from fat, and 12% to 16% from protein.4 Proposals to alter the proportions and/or types of macronutrients in this diet have been made for weight loss and cardiovascular health (Table 1).5–12 For weight management, for example, the strategy recommended by most medical groups entails the intake of a low-calorie, low-fat diet. The concept of fat restriction for weight management stems from traditional calorimetric measurements, which assign greater energy values to fat (&9 kcal/g) and less to carbohydrate and protein (&4 kcal/g). The low-calorie concept, on the other hand, is an intuitive technique to induce negative energy balance and has been adopted by some commercialized weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers International. View this table: TABLE 1. Various Dietary Patterns, Including Those Popularized Commercially and Those Investigated by Observational Studies and Clinical Trials One alternative proposed for weight loss is the low-carbohydrate diet. This was first described by William Banting13 in the 1860s and recently has received much attention in the form of the Atkins’, Stillman, Protein Power Lifeplan, and Zone diets. The Atkins’ diet begins with a weight-loss …

A total of 76 participants attended the Workshop held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They came from Canada (39), the USA (14), Belgium (4), Qatar (3), France (3), 2 each from the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, Ireland, and one each from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Israel, and Hong Kong, Of these, 33 were from government, 15 were from academia, 17 were instrument and equipment manufacturers and primary producers, 10 represented industry and one was a retired government official. While the majority of participants were involved in generating the database for risk analysis and risk assessment for the veterinary drugs of interest to this community, a sizeable number of participants were risk managers directly involved in making risk policy and risk management decisions. This Proceedings captures some of the relevant contributions presented at the SASKVAL III Workshop which was organized to assemble experts from the research community and those in the non-scientific policy-forming sector involved in the primary production of agri-food and aquaculture products for which veterinary drugs are used. The goal was to provide a forum for the two groups to gain a better understanding of the underlying issues related to the practice of using these drugs in food animal production and how they impact both human health safety issues and global trade with the expectation that this would enable the development of a firm knowledge base for making sound risk assessment and risk management decisions. In addition, it was expected that the workshop would provide the required forum to assist and inform public debate on current and emerging challenges facing the agri-food industry to help increase face-to-face public debate/discussion between the scientists in the analytical community and experts involved in policy decision-making. In that regard, the workshop was designed to centre on seven themes. One of the papers submitted for publication consideration in this section Effective management tools for moving standards through the Codex Standard Setting Process at the CCRVDF, authored by Jack Kay, described how the CCRVDF develops codes of practice related to veterinary drugs and their associated residues in food of animal origin, agreeing priorities for the assessment of the safety of veterinary drugs by the Joint World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO) of the United Nations Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs used in food animal production and considering sampling protocols and methods of analysis for veterinary drugs.1 The next two papers were submitted under Theme 2 – Chemical Residue and Contaminant Testing: Emerging and Alternate Technologies. In today's market economy, many nutritional and health studies recommend a higher consumption of fat composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mainly n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids which are abundant in fatty fish the major natural dietary source of long chain n-3 fatty acids. Processors and producers are finding ways to increase the amount of n-3 fatty acids in animal feed by addition of linseed oil or fish oil as a way to increase human intake of those compounds through the consumption of food from animal origin other than fatty fish. Consequently, many products including meat, milk, eggs, and dairy products enriched with n-3 fatty acids can now be found in the market. Unfortunately, this practice can result in the rapid oxidation of these high polyunsaturated fatty acids to potentially cytotoxic and genotoxic aldehydes, including malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (4-HHE), crotonaldehyde (CRT), benzaldehyde (BNZ), hexanal (HXL), 2,4-nonadienal and 2,4-decadienal. A 2011 safety assessment of MDA, crotonaldehyde and 4-HNE by the Belgian Superior Health Council concluded that these compounds were of major concern for human health. To protect consumers from ingesting potentially toxic compounds, a method authored by Douny et al.2 using the latest liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) platform technology was validated and used to characterize and measure these aldehydes in food or animal feed to establish their residue profile in consumer products whose labels claim to contain enriched fatty acids. In the second paper submitted under this theme, Akre and Mizuno3 demonstrated how difficult it is to develop a single method for the analysis and detection of natural and synthetic steroids, stilbenes, and resorcylic acid lactones in bovine urine despite recent advances made in the detection capabilities of current platform technologies such as gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Most laboratories conducting residue testing for monitoring drug use in the food animal population in support of regulatory requirements use multi-residue methods to increase laboratory efficiencies in sample analysis and to reduce the cost of operating those laboratories. Under Theme 3 – High Throughput Analysis in Labs and Food Production – Berendsen et al.4 presented results of a recent international collaborative laboratory study to revise and update the acceptance criteria for the characteristic operational parameters including retention times, ion ratios, etc., which were previously based on single analyte methods using vintage equipment, none of which is currently available in our regulatory laboratories. In this study, the authors assessed existing criteria in the light of currently applied methodologies and developed new evidence-based criteria applicable to modern and emerging analytical methods applied in the field of veterinary drug residue testing. Datasets were constructed from the analysis of in-house prepared homogeneous materials using relevant and state-of-the-art (front end) analytical instruments, combining chromatographic separation and mass spectrometric detection techniques. These datasets provided the basis for the proposed new/amended criteria. The amended criteria were then validated by a collaborative study employing in-house prepared homogeneous unknown test materials in collaboration with residue testing laboratories from all over the world, to ensure validity of the proposed criteria for confirmatory analysis. The results of this collaborative study will be presented to the next session of the CCRVDF which will meet in October 2016 in the USA to consider how it can incorporate the new acceptance criteria for mass spectrometric detection techniques into the Codex Criteria for the Performance of Analytical Methods Used in Regulatory Monitoring Programs. Urine samples obtained from food animals are used extensively in some regulatory programmes to screen for the presence/absence of veterinary drug residues and contaminants. In North America, regulatory decisions can only be made on analysis performed directly on the edible tissue (not urine) to demonstrate that the concentration of an approved veterinary drug detected in that particular food sample exceeds the MRL defined by the Competent Authority as safe for human consumption. Kaufmann5 reviewed the practice of using advanced analytical technologies like ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) for veterinary drug screening of animal urine where the MRLs of those compounds in organs like muscle, kidney, or liver have been exceeded. He discussed the limitations and possibilities of the technique drawing attention to the most critical point which is the variability of the drug concentration ratio between the tissue and urine and offered strategies to manage the potential for false positive and false negative results. Ramadan et al.6 described a validated LC-MS/MS method for the quantitative analysis and confirmation of 120 pesticide residues in apples and cucumbers based on the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) approach to sample extraction. The validated method has been used for over two years in the routine analysis of these matrices in Qatar's residue monitoring programme. Matus and Boison7 reported the development and validation of a liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QToF/MS) method for 17 anticoccidial drugs and ractopamine residues in animal tissues quail liver, bovine kidney, liver, muscle, chicken muscle, and horse muscle. The method which describes a short extraction time of 3 h and short chromatographic run times provides test results in 1 day for 24 samples and has been demonstrated to be suitable for the analysis of an additional 110 veterinary drugs including nitroimidazoles, NSAIDs, corticosteroids, hormones, steroids, β-agonists, tranquilizers, macrolides, desoxycarbadox, phenicols, endectocides, zeranols, estradiols, fluoroquinolones, and sulphonamides. Since food is extensively traded on the world market, it is imperative that all countries involved in global trade respect the basic tenet of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that countries engaged in global trade activities adopt the scientific, risk-based standards established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission that will facilitate trade rather than become barriers to trade. In that same vein, Codex has also recommended that all laboratories providing analytical support services to the residue control programme must be accredited to an international testing standard such the ISO/IEC 1705:2005 and that the methods used in support of that work must be validated in accordance with accepted criteria. Since the EU is a major trading partner in global trade, developments in food safety issues undertaken by the EU will usually have significant implications to the rest of the trading partners. So, under Theme 4 – International Harmonization of Analytical Methods and Processes – McEvoy8 reviewed past food and feed safety crises that have shaped the development of EU food law and showed that the current flexible regulatory framework and support mechanisms underpinning its operation means that the EU is now in a much stronger position to identify and address food and feed safety incidents and prevent their escalation into crises than was the case previously. On the basis of past experience, unexpected or unforeseen events are most likely to trigger food and feed safety crises. Consequently, preparedness for such events will require ongoing investment in active and passive surveillance systems allied with vigilance on the part of all of the players in the feed and food chains, effective communication, sharing of intelligence, and coordination of activities between the member states and the European institutions. Having all of these elements in place, whilst not guaranteeing that there will never be any further food/feed safety incidents in the EU, would nevertheless appear to offer the best hope of preventing the escalation of such incidents into crises. He concluded that in this respect the EU is well placed to face future challenges. Continuing on the theme of international harmonization, van Ginkel and Sterk9 reviewed the current laboratory network system in support of residue monitoring programmes within the EU which formally started in the early 1990s and noted with interest that since then it has evolved and incorporated new techniques and methods for quality assurance and is moving in parallel with the shift at the EU headquarters itself from production-based control to risk-based control. The paradigm shift from production-based to risk-based control now is foreseen in the EU laboratory operations which will have a significant impact on the type of methodologies to be used and subsequently also on the specific roles of EU reference laboratories. In this presentation, van Ginkel and Sterk project how the laboratory operations at the EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) will look in years to come. With all the recent scandalous events in the UK on the detection of phenylbutazone residues in meat that had intentionally been contaminated with horse meat and not properly labelled, Decloedt et al.10 presented a paper in Theme 5 – “Sports Doping: First Past the Post before Veterinary Drug Abuse –Show Cows and Race Horses” to highlight a situation that might be construed to be cheating as a result of feeding the race horse with mouldy corn (poor feed quality) or a herbal phyto-supplement. In the race-horse industry, all substances that are not allowed to be used in treating a horse in competition including most anabolic-androgenic steroids are clearly listed and posted. As zero-tolerance regulation is enforced, a question arose if the consumption of mouldy corn feed could lead to the excretion of steroids, due to the biotransformation of plant phytosterols to steroids that would lead to the implication of cheating when these are detected in the race horse. The authors used a rapid UHPLC-MS/MS analytical method, previously validated according to the Association of Official Racing Chemists (AORC) and European Commission (EC) guidelines, to measure steroids in different sample types and found that mouldy corn can develop concentrations of up to 3.0 ± 0.4 µg/kg 4-androstenedione. An herbal phyto-supplement was also shown to contain α-testosterone. The authors strongly recommended caution against the consumption of any feed or (herbal) supplement of which the detailed ingredients and quantitative analysis are unknown. Boison et al.11 presented a study which showed that the recovery of phenylbutazone (PBZ) and oxyphenbutazone (OXPBZ) residues from equine tissues are improved with the addition of a β-glucuronidase enzyme hydrolysis step. In the absence of enzymatic hydrolysis, liver tissue obtained from the horse sacrificed 6 days post dose contained the highest concentration of PBZ followed by kidney and muscle. With the additional enzymatic hydrolysis step in the sample preparation procedure, the recovery of PBZ was elevated by about a factor of 1.3 in liver, 1.4 in kidney, and 4.7 times in muscle tissues. The concentration of OXPBZ residues was highest in the kidney followed by liver but it was below the limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method for muscle using their previously published method without enzymatic hydrolysis. The authors, therefore, strongly recommended that methods developed for the analysis of PBZ and its OXPBZ metabolite consider the inclusion of this enzyme hydrolysis step. Talking about the use and monitoring of antimicrobial use in food animals without the issue of antimicrobial resistance is almost impossible. All too often though, we as chemists think we are doing a very good job by being able to measure as low as possible of the residues in the food animal. The microbiologists also believe that they are doing a very good job identifying the end points for assessment of antimicrobial resistance and communicating that information that the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria and the human population is on the rise sometimes making claims that this could be contributed by the consumption of low levels of antimicrobials in the foods of animal origin that consumers are exposed to. What we haven't done well yet is for both teams to come together and develop strategies to look at the issue collectively. Also to be included in this exercise is the toxicologists and policy decision-makers. We were very fortunate at this Workshop to have all the relevant groups together. So, under Theme 6 – Antibiotics in the Environment, Food Chain, Aquatic and Food Animal Production: Is There a Link to Antibiotic Resistance? – Cerniglia et al.12 provided the workshop participants with the most current update of the concern that antimicrobial new animal drugs in or on animal-derived food products at residue-level concentrations could disrupt the colonization barrier and/or modify the antimicrobial resistance profile of human intestinal bacteria. Therapeutic doses of antimicrobial drugs have been shown to promote shifts in the intestinal microbiome, and these disruptions promote the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. To assess the effects of antimicrobial new animal drug residues in food on human intestinal bacteria, many national regulatory agencies and international committees follow a harmonized process, VICH GL36(R). The authors provide an overview of this current approach as part of the antimicrobial new animal drug approval process in participating countries, insights on the microbiological endpoints used in this safety evaluation, and the availability of new information. Daeseleire et al.13 describe some general aspects of antibiotic resistance such as microbiological versus clinical resistance, intrinsic versus acquired resistance, resistance mechanisms and transfer of resistance are briefly introduced and follow that with a description of a Belgian mission founded in 2012 to collect and analyze all data related to antibiotic use and resistance in animals in Belgium and to communicate these findings in a neutral and objective manner. One of the 10 objectives of the mission was to develop strategies that will result in a 50% reduction in antibiotic consumption in veterinary medicine in Belgium by 2020. The authors report on the achievements of this national project and described in detail the project undertaken by the Belgian Government in order to accomplish this mission. Fish and other aquatic organisms have become an increasingly important source of food for human consumption, and the practice of aquaculture is growing and evolving as is the need to develop safe and effective drugs for treating fish diseases. In order to control diseases and to improve production, farmers use various resources including veterinary drugs, vaccines, immune-stimulants, etc. The challenge of sustainable aquaculture is to contribute to the national objectives for economic development and food security while simultaneously addressing the goals of reducing poverty and increasing environmental protection. The industry has historically depended on the use of veterinary drugs, but in response to the increasing concerns of environmental sustainability and consumer preference for safe food, the sector has begun to realize the potential risk associated with the irresponsible use of these products. Many veterinary drugs are used in both the aquaculture and livestock industries, as well as being available in formulations suitable for human treatments. That the issues of antimicrobial use in food animal production are of global concern is well recognized. In Asian countries, it is common to find fish farms integrated with animal houses and agricultural land which could lead to environmental contamination via unintended residues of drugs or pesticides in foods leading to an increase in antimicrobial resistance. To minimize environmental contamination by the effective use of drugs for aquatic animals, it is important to understand the aquaculture system which includes the life cycle of the aquatic animal, feed, disease and the environment. The study of the fate of a drug in the environment can provide a lot of information which includes dissipation time, the identification of degradation or metabolic products by photolysis, hydrolysis, and microbial degradation, and the distribution related to adsorption onto sediment or soil. An understanding of the fate of veterinary drugs administered to fish in aquatic systems might aid in more effective prevention and treatment of diseases of aquatic animals, for environmental conservation and for food safety. Kwon14 describes a study that was conducted to investigate the fate of erythromycin and oxolinic acid in aquatic systems for the effective use of remedies, prevention of fish diseases and environmental conservation which reflect the marine and fresh water aquaculture systems in Korea. All veterinary drugs used in food animal production have to be subjected to extensive clinical trials and metabolism studies in a number of laboratory animals and the food animal prior to their being registered and licensed for use in food animal production. The studies that need to be completed in the process are very well laid out and in all the studies there is a requirement to use suitably sensitive methods for the studies being conducted. Under Theme 7 – Pharmacokinetics and Depletion Studies – Sanders et al.15 reviewed the general principles and methods for chemical risk assessment described in Environmental Health Criteria 240, Principles and methods for the risk assessment of chemicals in food approaches which the Joint WHO/FAO of the UN Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), follows to conduct risk assessments. Following a request from the CCRVDF, JECFA will assess veterinary drugs which are currently used under national marketing authorization or unregulated compounds which are used as a veterinary treatment (e.g. dyes). The authors described the different pharmacokinetic analysis tools used by JECFA to assess all compounds used as drugs referred to JECFA. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a quality system concerned with the organizational process and the conditions under which non-clinical health and environmental safety studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, archived and reported. Croubels et al.16 describe the GLP principles applicable for veterinary drug registration and licensing purposes First, a general overview of the GLP requirements is given, followed by a more specific comparison and discussion of the analytical method validation parameters and acceptance criteria of different international guidelines applied in the context of veterinary drug pharmacokinetic and residue depletion studies. Finally, the authors identified some needs with respect to method validation and highlighted some new developments in pharmacokinetic and residue depletion studies. Boison17 described the role validated analytical methods play in the risk assessment evaluations conducted by JECFA and points out that the work of JECFA will never be complete without the availability of suitably validated analytical methods. In the final manuscript Boison et al.18 describe a method that was validated and used for the depletion study of tulathromycin residues in bison and deer sera as well as selected tissues of white-tailed deer.

A quantitative review of on-farm feeding practices to enhance the quality of grassland-based ruminant dairy and meat products

High fat intake is associated with fat mass gain through fatty acid activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors delta and gamma, which promote adipogenesis. We show herein that, compared to a combination of specific agonists to both receptors or to saturated, monounsaturated, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic acid (C20:4, omega-6) promoted substantially the differentiation of clonal preadipocytes. This effect was blocked by cyclooxygenase inhibitors and mimicked by carbacyclin, suggesting a role for the prostacyclin receptor and activation of the cyclic AMP-dependent pathways that regulate the expression of the CCAAT enhancer binding proteins beta and delta implicated in adipogenesis. During the pregnancy-lactation period, mother mice were fed either a high-fat diet rich in linoleic acid, a precursor of arachidonic acid (LO diet), or the same isocaloric diet enriched in linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid (LO/LL diet). Body weight from weaning onwards, fat mass, epididymal fat pad weight, and adipocyte size at 8 weeks of age were higher with LO diet than with LO/LL diet. In contrast, prostacyclin receptor-deficient mice fed either diet were similar in this respect, indicating that the prostacyclin signaling contributes to adipose tissue development. These results raise the issue of the high content of linoleic acid of i) ingested lipids during pregnancy and lactation, and ii) formula milk and infant foods in relation to the epidemic of childhood obesity.

From the nutrition point of view, lipids are primarily considered as energy suppliers, their dietary intake having to be limited. In fact, lipids are sources of various fatty acids, and dietary recommendations include the required daily intakes in different fatty acids (fatty acid profile). Beyond these quantitative aspects, fatty acids are part of larger molecules, mainly triacylglycerols (TAG), that are organized in supramolecular structures as for example fat crystals and lipid droplets. Recent advances in nutrition research have demonstrated that these structures, and lipid organization in food matrices, influence digestibility and metabolism of fatty acids. Therefore, the members of the technological network Listral propose a synthesis of the knowledge about the influence of molecular and supramolecular structures of lipids on digestion and metabolic fate of dietary fatty acids originating from for the main food industry sectors. Fatty acids are mainly provided in the diet in the form of TAG, or phospholipids (PL) where they are esterified in external (sn-1, sn-3) or internal (sn-2) position of the glycerol backbone. They can also be found as ethyl esters (EE) in specific formulations. These molecular characteristics of the lipid molecules affect their hydrolysis and their absorption rate but also their metabolism in indifferent organs, as assessed in studies often using inter esterified fat sources. The results depend on the types of fatty acids (saturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids) but also on the model used for the studies: in vitro or in vivo studies; animal model, human newborn or adult, either healthy or exhibiting some diseases. Among others, it was found that the crystal form and fat melting point as affected by the fatty acid profiles and the lipid molecular structures directly impact fatty acid absorption kinetics through modifications of lipolytic enzyme activities. However, in these studies, the relative effect of the thermal properties of lipids and the proportion of saturated fatty acids chains in sn-2 position were hardly distinguished. Supramolecular structures, namely type and size of the fat droplets and their interfacial composition, of lipids, either in their native forms or obtained after food processes, also affect the digestibility and absorption of lipids. This aspect is reviewed with specific focus on dairy, marine, meat, oil plant and egg products. The impact of other nutritional components present in these food matrices on the absorption of lipids is also discussed.

Meat and fish are introduced into the diet as a source of protein, but these muscle foods present different fatty acid (FA) compositions and different lipid stabilities. Fatty fish is expected to oxidize due to its higher content of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), whereas the higher heme-Fe content of red meat will also affect lipid stability. Combining other food ingredients within a meal also influences lipid oxidation, which will not stop after meals intake. This is due to the acidic environment of the stomach together with the presence of metallic ions, a process that is scarcely understood. The goal of this study was to evaluate the oxidation of fatty fish vs. meat meal diets under in vitro standardized semi-dynamic gastric conditions and FA release from the stomach to the duodenum. Meal diets composed by 25% beef meal (BM) or fatty fish meal (FM), 25% fried potatoes, and 50% sugar soft drink were prepared. Proximate composition, FA and amino acid profiles, and meals quality indices were evaluated. Their differences in composition led to different total gastric digestion time of 242.74 (BM) and 175.20 (FM) minutes. Using the INFOGEST semi-dynamic gastric model, 4 gastric emptying (GE) were simulated in both meals. In each GE, FA profile and lipid oxidation products (LOPs) formation were assessed. As a result, more than 50% FA release to the duodenum occurred in GE1, whose percentage decreased with the time of digestion. FM exhibited the highest LOPs formation, which corroborates the high peroxidizability index measured for this meal diet. Higher LOPs formation occurred in the later GEs, which released less FA. This suggests that higher times of residence in the stomach increase FA oxidation. This study shows a higher formation of LOPs during digestion of FM using a whole meal approach. These results relate to its richness in PUFAs compared to BM. Despite higher LOPs formation, FM digests that reached duodenum still contain higher content of unoxidized PUFAs compared with BM and a desirable ω3/ω6 PUFAs ratio of ~0.43. LOPs formation in PUFA-rich meals could be reduced if those meals have a low caloric value, avoiding large times of residence in the stomach and consequently high levels of oxidation.

Simple SummaryDietary fat intake is substantially high in Western countries, resulting in overweight, obesity and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among consumers. One way to reduce the incidence of CVD is to change food consumption and food intake with a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the human diet. Meat and meat products are considered to be the main source of dietary fats, especially as a source of saturated fatty acids. The aim of this study was to increase the proportion of PUFAs and, conversely, to decrease the proportion of saturated fatty acids in fat of pork meat. Flaxseed with a concentration of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) at 57% was used in the swine diet. Flaxseed supplementation at two inclusion levels (5% and 10%) in two time intervals (3 and 6 weeks before slaughter) was evaluated. The aim was to increase the proportion of n-3 PUFAs, especially ALA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and to improve the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio in produced pork meat. The storage conditions and oxidation stability of the produced meat under refrigerator temperature (+4 °C) were also observed.Flaxseed is a common ingredient used for livestock feed. The aim of this work was to study the effect of a diet supplemented with flaxseed at 5% and 10% concentrations in the intervals of 3 and 6 weeks prior slaughter on fatty acid profile and oxidative stability of pork meat. Meat samples were collected after slaughter from each animal (five groups, n = 6). Samples of the musculus longissimus dorsi (MLD) and the musculus gluteobiceps (MGB) were selected. Chemical composition, fatty acid profile and oxidative stability during the storage of meat under chilling conditions (4 °C, 7 days) was analyzed. The addition of flaxseed significantly affected the composition of fatty acid profile and the shelf life of the produced meat. The fat content was changed in the experimental groups with 10% flaxseed supplementation (10.84% in MGB and 9.56% MLD) versus the control group. Despite the different concentrations of flaxseed, the best EPA/AA ratio was observed in the experimental groups fed with flaxseed supplementation for 3 weeks. The worst oxidative stability of meat samples (p < 0.05) was recorded in the experimental groups with the addition of flaxseed for 6 weeks, which was related to higher PUFA content in samples of the experimental groups and higher susceptibility of PUFAs to lipid oxidation. The oxidative stability of meat in the experimental group fed 5% flaxseed supplementation for 3 weeks was not affected.

Over the past 100 years, changes in the food supply in Western nations have resulted in alterations in dietary fatty acid consumption, leading to a dramatic increase in the ratio of omega-6 (omega6) to omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in circulation and in tissues. Increased omega6/omega3 ratios are hypothesized to increase inflammatory mediator production, leading to higher incidence of inflammatory diseases, and may impact inflammatory gene expression. To determine the effect of reducing the omega6/omega3 ratio on expression of inflammatory pathway genes in mononuclear cells, healthy humans were placed on a controlled diet for 1 week, then given fish oil and borage oil for an additional 4 weeks. Serum and neutrophil fatty acid composition and ex vivo leukotriene B(4) production from stimulated neutrophils were measured at the start and end of the supplementation period and after a 2-week washout. RNA was isolated from mononuclear cells and expression of PI3K, Akt, NFkappaB, and inflammatory cytokines was measured by real-time PCR. A marked increase was seen in serum and neutrophil levels of long-chain omega3 PUFA concomitant with a reduction in the omega6/omega3 PUFA ratio (40%). The ex vivo capacity of stimulated neutrophils to produce leukotriene B(4) was decreased by 31%. Expression of PI3Kalpha and PI3Kgamma and the quantity of PI3Kalpha protein in mononuclear cells was reduced after supplementation, as was the expression of several proinflammatory cytokines. These data reveal that PUFA may exert their clinical effects via their capacity to regulate the expression of signal transduction genes and genes for proinflammatory cytokines.

The changes of the fatty acid (FA) profile of 2 muscles Longissimus dorsi and Biceps femoris from 3 Iberian × Duroc genotypes were studied: GEN1: ♂ Iberian × ♀ Duroc1, GEN2: ♂ Duroc1 × ♀ Iberian; GEN3: ♂ Duroc2 × ♀ Iberian. GEN1 and GEN2 are reciprocal crosses while the difference between GEN2 and GEN3 is the Duroc sire line. The genotype Duroc1 was selected for the production of dry-cured meat products while the genotype Duroc2 was selected for meat production. Longissimus dorsi and Biceps femoris BF from the reciprocal cross showed similar changes in FAs profile after refrigerated storage. However, the Duroc sire line affected the FA profiles of intramuscular fat (IMF) and lipid fractions since some differences were found between GEN2 and GEN3. Meat from GEN3 had the highest level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in IMF and lipid fractions as well as the lowest rate of plasmalogens in polar lipid fraction. After storage, meat from GEN3 showed an increase of long chain PUFA in free fatty acids fraction and the highest increase in the ratio DMA/FA [(dimethylacetals/FAs) × 100] after the refrigerated storage, which was indicative of a higher deterioration of this genotype. Therefore, the crossbreeding of Iberian pigs with Duroc selected genotypes (Duroc2) could affect the changes in the FAs profile of meat under refrigerated storage.

The use of 2-dimensional gas chromatography to investigate the effect of rumen-protected conjugated linoleic acid, breed, and lactation stage on the fatty acid profile of sheep milk

Fish and N-3 fatty acids for the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease: nutrition is not pharmacology

Dietary n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Enhance Hormone Ablation Therapy in Androgen-Dependent Prostate Cancer

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the impact of dietary supplementation with different forms of minerals and vitamins on growth, carcass cum meat qualities, and gene expression in Barbari goat kids. Four groups of goat kids (six kids in each group) of 6–7 months were fed different diets for 120 days: a basal diet (Group A), a basal diet with vitamins and inorganic minerals (Group B), a basal diet with vitamins and organic minerals (Group C), and a basal diet with vitamins and nano minerals (Group D). Growth parameters, carcass, meat qualities, and expression of genes relevant to growth, metabolism, antioxidant activity, and myogenesis were assessed. Significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) were observed among the groups in growth and carcass quality. Meat from supplemented groups had a lower cooking loss (except Group B) and higher pigments and vitamins. Group D had lower (p &lt; 0.05) meat yellowness, and Group C had higher shear force. Significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher Fe, Zn, and Se were recorded in Group C and D meats. Fatty acid profile of meat was significantly (p &lt; 0.05) affected by dietary treatments, and Group D meat had higher (p &lt; 0.05) saturated fatty acid (SFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and n‐6 PUFA. The supplementation influenced the expression of the studied genes.Practical Application: Intake of desirable macro‐ and micronutrients through dietary means is always preferred over supplements. Meat, including from goat, rich in unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega fatty acids, Fe, Zn, Se, and vitamins A and E, can help address nutritional deficits and wellbeing, thus having a greater consumer preference and market potential. The present research showed that the supplementation of vitamins and organic and nano trace elements increased their contents in meat, besides improvements in animal growth, muscle mass, and fatty acid profile. Higher costs of organic and nano‐minerals may be a limiting factor for their application in goat production. However, this could be countered by upscaling their production, better absorption, bioactivities, animal growth performance, desirable meat quality and healthier nutrient profile, lower dose rate, and eco‐friendly nature. The upregulation of the studied genes indicates interaction between supplemented micronutrients and genes, besides highlighting the possible mode of action. Thus, this approach could be very promising in the production of meat with an improved fatty acid profile and rich in trace elements and vitamins.