Journal
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY
Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 22-36Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.12118
Keywords
agriculture; antioxidant effect; diet; fatty acids; meat quality
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Funding
- Alliance Group Limited
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Health-conscious consumers following dietary fat recommendations require meat that is low in saturated fat with preferably high levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. This review summarizes the influence of dietary lipids from red meat on human health and examines the potential to enhance lipid composition through pasture-feeding. The role of fatty acids in plant and ruminant metabolism is discussed to highlight the complexity of ruminal digestion when trying to enhance fatty acids in meat. Generally, ruminants that consume pasture diets have been shown to produce a more desirable fatty acid composition than those fed grain and offer potential to be further enhanced by using specific plant species. Elevated polyunsaturated fat content in meat, however, tends to increase susceptibility to oxidation, which influences other meat quality characteristics including shelf-life and color. The use of specific plant species may mitigate these negative effects due to vitamin E or other antioxidants in these plants, which protect polyunsaturated fats from oxidation. When assessing the potential of plants as a natural dietary fat source, consideration must be given to environmental influences on plant fatty acid composition to ensure consistent production of meat products with high nutritive value under a range of management practices. This review also explores the potential impact of climate change on plant fatty acid composition, and the potential implications of this for meat quality.
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