SKIN FISH OIL AS POTENTIAL SOURCE OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS FOR ADDITION TO FUNCTIONAL MEAT PRODUCTS: DETERMINATION OF OXIDATIVE STABILITY

摘要

IntroductionThe meat industry must adapt to the new concepts in nutrition. Functional meat products constitute an opportunity for achieving a healthy and balanced diet and a higher diversification in the sector. A food can be regarded as 'functional' if it is satisfactorily demonstrated to affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutrition, in a way that improves health and well-being or reduces the risk of disease. One of the effects of these foods is associated with inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol, which is thought to be a major factor in cardiovascular disease. A number of ingredients, including omega-3 fatty acids, possess this property. Lipids from nonmeat sources (e.g., vegetable and fish oils) could be used to improve fatty acid profiles of meat products. With this aim, various different vegetable oils have been used in normal and low-fat meat products. In a previous work (Broce et al., 2005), part of the animal fat was replaced by several vegetable oils (sunflower, canola, olive) in low-fat frankfurters to achieve a healthier product. However, although the content of saturated fatty acids decreased and unsaturated fatty acids increased, the ratio omega-6/omega-3 was too high to be nutritionally correct. Other strategy is direct addition of fish oils (high content of omega-3 fatty acids) to frankfurters. This work is a preliminary study to evaluate the stability against oxidation of oils extracted from fish skin. The oxidation of orange roughy oil was evaluated by a number of complementary methods. The oil was exposed to pro-oxidative conditions during storage for comparison with conventional storage under refrigeration.