Manipulating the fatty acid composition of pig and poultry products

Abstract

Over the past twenty years nutritional literature at all levels has abounded with arguments about the role of dietary fat in the increased incidence of the many ailments that pervade Western society, in particular of course coronary heart disease. The general opinion is that the incidence of such disorders would be reduced and the health of our society improved by a reduction in the gross amount of fat consumed, a reduction in dietary cholesterol and a change in the dietary regimen of fatty acids in favour of increased levels of a range of polyunsaturates. Although the pattern of fat consumption has always undergone some changes, contemporary moves against the consumption of animal fats have been particularly dramatic based on the firm belief, erroneous or otherwise, that some animal products are very much less beneficial than others. Of the range of products based on the pig and the avian the attitude towards fat consumption has been highly variable.