Meat Products as Functional Foods: A Review

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The trend toward functional foods has led to the publication of several articles describing studies of the effects of including 1 or more ingredients with functional properties in various types of food, within which meat and meat products deserve special attention. The object of including functional ingredients in the case of meat is not only concerned with providing it with certain desirable properties but also an attempt to change its image in these healthconscious days. The meat industry is 1 of the most important in the world and, whether as a result of consumer demand or because of the ferocious competition in the industry, research into new products is continuous. However, such research and the launch of new products is directed at providing healthy alternatives to what has frequently been accused of causing a variety of pathologies ( Jimenez-Colmenero 2000). This unfortunate image derives mainly from the content of fat, saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol and their association with cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer, obesity, and so forth. Regarding obesity, it is very important to understand how meat or meat products affects biological and physiological mechanisms of appetite, satiety, and long-term behavior. Meat and meat products show highly satiating characteristics and, in this respect, functional foods could be a food-related solution because these types of products could be designed to be less calorifically dense and while remaining more highly satiating and tasty. In this way, the food industry in general, the meat and related products industry in particular, could contribute to making lives easier and more active. Meat is associated with cholesterol, and although it is now accepted that the dietary intake of cholesterol has little bearing on plasma cholesterol, for consumers this is another negative influence