Reformulating Meat Products for Improving Nutrition and Health

Abstract

Recent consumers’ demand for health-oriented meat products has led to the development of reformulated meat products using naturally occurring compounds. Reformulation of meat products can be best practised during preparation time. However, the current reformulation strategies of meat products can be achieved by reduction of fat content, modification of fatty acid profile, reduction of cholesterol, reduction of sodium content, nitrite/nitrate as well as calories, and also incorporation of functional ingredients, including use of dietary fibres, polysaccharides, natural antioxidants and antimicrobials, essential vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotic, synbiotics and other fermented ingredients. This strategy actually leads to the development of healthier meat products with the concurrent improvement of physiological functions of human. The beneficial effects of these compounds on human health are due to one or many factors such as antioxidant activity, chemomodulatory activity, gut acting activity, altering serum lipid profiles like decreasing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, increasing HDL cholesterol and so on. Reduction of some specific unhealthy compounds like cholesterol, fat, sodium, nitrites and even lowering of calorie content could help in reduction of obesity, antihypertensive activity, cardioprotective property, anti-carcinogenic activity and so on. Functional compounds, especially antihypertensive peptides, opioid peptides, antioxidative peptides can also be generated from meat products during processing such as fermentation, curing and aging. The use of these ingredients in meat product reformulation offers the processors an opportunity to improve the nutritional and health qualities of their products.