What are consumers looking for today in their food?

Healthy lifestyles are big drivers of the consumption of food. What health-conscious consumers want today is food that does not have an excess of salt or trans-fats but has all of the good ingredients such as fibre, vitamins, minerals and the long-chain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

What are the health benefits of Omega-3 in food?

We’re increasingly aware that very long-chain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) benefit a range of bodily functions. They help prevent heart attacks and strokes. They also help to protect the brain from dementia, protect from cancer and diabetes, and are good for joints and muscles.

Are humans consuming enough Omega-3?

Around 80% of the world is either moderately or severely deficient in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. That’s because the sole origin to date for these acids was from oily fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines. These fish came from the wild eating plankton and algae, which are the originators and manufacturers of DHA and EPA. However, humans have over-fished the oceans and the availability of long-chain Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from wild fish is now reduced.

Can we get Omega-3s from farmed fish?

Farmed fish need to be fed on wild fish in order to uptake these polyunsaturated fatty acids. It’s a scarce resource and there is less of the Omega-3s going into the farmed fish. Consumers might think they’re getting a good amount of Omega-3 from eating a portion of salmon every week. But the reality is they’re not getting enough. There’s also an issue that not everyone likes to eat fish, particularly children.

Can the food industry fill this Omega-3 deficiency for consumers?

Yes. A collaboration between RCSI and Devenish Nutrition undertook a study of humans fed with chicken meat naturally enriched with Omega-3s and naturally enriched Omega-3 eggs over six months. We found that eating a small amount of Omega-3s regularly (every day or second day) in the form of enriched chicken or eggs can have a dramatic effect on Omega-3 levels in humans.

Will Omega-3 enriched meat and eggs become part of the mainstream diet?

This is a realistic option for the food industry. At the moment, the only producer of Omega-3 enriched chicken is Moy Park in Northern Ireland, and it is commercially selling it in Waitrose stores in the UK. There are a number of other retailers and food producers that are in discussion with us to provide Omega-3 enriched chicken meat for their customers. There is a range of Omega-3 enriched eggs already on the market. I would suggest that consumers look for eggs enriched with DHA and EPA rather than eggs enriched with the alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is a shorter-chain Omega-3 that is plant-based. Unfortunately humans don’t have the enzymes to effectively convert ALA. Instead, humans need Omega-3 to be in marine form, which is DHA or EPA.