Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world, but typical feeding practices give it a high omega-6 (
n-6) to omega-3 (
n-3) fatty acid ratio and make it a poor source of
n-3 fatty acids. Feeding pigs
[...] Read more.
Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world, but typical feeding practices give it a high omega-6 (
n-6) to omega-3 (
n-3) fatty acid ratio and make it a poor source of
n-3 fatty acids. Feeding pigs
n-3 fatty acids can increase their contents in pork, and in countries where label claims are permitted, claims can be met with limited feeding of
n-3 fatty acid enrich feedstuffs, provided contributions of both fat and muscle are included in pork servings. Pork enriched with
n-3 fatty acids is, however, not widely available. Producing and marketing
n-3 fatty acid enriched pork requires regulatory approval, development costs, quality control costs, may increase production costs, and enriched pork has to be tracked to retail and sold for a premium. Mandatory labelling of the
n-6/
n-3 ratio and the
n-3 fatty acid content of pork may help drive production of
n-3 fatty acid enriched pork, and open the door to population-based disease prevention polices (
i.e., food tax to provide incentives to improve production practices). A shift from the status-quo, however, will require stronger signals along the value chain indicating production of
n-3 fatty acid enriched pork is an industry priority.
Full article