Production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched loin and dry cured ham from pigs fed algae: Nutritional and sensory quality

Dry cured hams and loins enriched with the long‐chain n‐3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were produced using three doses of algae in the diet of pigs: 0.3, 0.6, or 1.2 g algae/100 g feed. Two control treatments were included: A diet containing soybean oil and a linseed oil diet high in alpha‐linolenic acid. Loins from the algae treatments contained 10–20 mg of DHA/100 g and the dry cured hams 25–56 mg DHA/100 g, which was significantly higher compared to the linseed oil treatment (4.3 mg DHA/100 g loin and 9.1 mg DHA/100 g dry cured ham) and the soybean oil treatment (2.4 mg DHA/100 g loin and 4.5 mg DHA/100 g dry cured ham). No significant differences were found among treatments for the consumer sensory analysis of the dry cured hams. The volatile compound 2‐penten‐1‐ol was 2.7‐fold higher in dry cured hams from the animals fed 1.2 g/100 g algae compared to the soybean oil treatment and 1.5‐fold higher compared to the linseed oil treatment. The dry cured hams from all algae treatments had about 1.2‐fold higher TBARS values (lipid oxidation) compared to the control treatments. The color stability and instrumental texture parameters were affected by the algae treatments, while the color and lipid stability of the loins were not affected. Practical applications: The positive health effects of C20:5n‐3 (EPA) and C22:6n‐3 (DHA) are generally recognized and appear to be greater than for their precursor C18:3n‐3. Incorporation of ingredients rich in long chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n‐3 LC PUFA) in livestock feeds results in the accumulation of these fatty acids in the intramuscular and subcutaneous fat of the animals and in the derived meat products. Present knowledge of the nutritional and sensory quality of pork products enriched with EPA and DHA from algae is of importance when commercialising entire carcasses of pigs fed an n‐3 LC PUFA enriched feed, as the major part of a pig carcass is processed into various meat products. Dry cured hams and loins enriched with the long‐chain n‐3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were produced using three doses of algae in the diet of pigs: 0.3, 0.6, or 1.2 g algae/100 g feed (respectively, ALG0.3, ALG0.6, and ALG1.2). Two control treatments were included: a diet containing soybean oil (SOY) and a linseed oil diet high in alpha‐linolenic acid (LIN).