Production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched bacon

North American consumers interested in improving their health through diet perceive red meat as a source of too much saturated and unhealthy fat in the diet. The purpose of this trial was to produce bacon enriched with the long-chain omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In this 25 day study, pigs were fed a standard finisher diet of canola, pea, corn, and barley, mixed with DHA, added in the form of alga biomass. Bacon content of DHA was increased to 97 mg/100 g when 1 g of DHA was added to a kilogram of feed. The pigs fed the highest diet level of alga biomass, containing 0.29% DHA, produced bacon with approximately 3.4 mg of DHA/g and 1.2% of the fat as omega-3 fatty acids. Feed to gain was significantly improved, and carcass quality was unaffected. However, problems of off-odors and off-flavors were reported in the bacon from the taste panel survey. Polyunsaturated fat and potential unsaturated fat oxidation as indicated by malonaldehyde levels were significantly higher in the pigs fed the higher concentrations of DHA.