AbstractThis study reports improvements in the nutritional value of pork by including linseed in the diets of boar and gilt pigs. Two feeding strategies, either short-term or long-term, were employed: (i) 0 g or 114 g linseed per kg of food provided to 16 pigs of 87 kg live weight for 20 or 27 days; (ii) 0 g, 10 g, 20 g or 30 g linseed per kg of food provided to 64 pigs of 46 kg live weight for 54, 62, 68 or 75 days. All diets were supplemented with DL-α-tocopheryl acetate (0•2 g/kg). The 18 : 3n-3 contents (18 : 2n-6 :18 : 3n-3 ratios in parentheses) of the short-term 0 g and 114 g/kg, and long-term 0g, 10 g, 20 g and 30 g/kg linseed diets, were 2•1 g (7•75), 28•1 g (0•70), 1•0 g (8•86), 3•4 g (2•73), 6•0 g (1•66) and 8•1 g/kg food (1•25) respectively. The long-term 30 g/kg diet reduced the n-6 : n-3 ratio of muscle and adipose tissue as successfully as the short-term 114 g/kg diet to accord with guidelines for the overall human diet (5 :1 or less) but required only 0•73 as much linseed and increased the proportion of C20-22 n-3 fatty acids more effectively; compared with their respective control diets, the 114 g/kg and 30 g/kg diets more than halved the n-6 : n-3 ratios in muscle to 3•8 and 3•9, approximately trebled the concentrations of 18 : 3n-3 in muscle to 0•43 mg and 0•28 mg/g tissue, and doubled the concentrations of 20: 5n-3 in muscle to 0•08 mg and 0•10 mg/g tissue. Similar changes occurred in adipose tissue. With both strategies, the majority of the changes had occurred by the time the first groups were slaughtered. There was a strong relationship between the 18 : 2n-6 :18 : 3n-3 ratio of the food and tissues and the accumulation of all C20-22 n-3 fatty acids, except 22 : 6n-3, which was unaffected by dietary linseed. The improvements in nutritional value were obtained without changes in organoleptic characteristics, as measured by a trained taste panel, or significant loss of shelf-life, as measured by TBARS analysis and colour stability.
Quality Aspects for High Nutritional Value Pretzel
