Where’s the beef … in functional foods?
posted on June 8, 2009
On Monday afternoon from 1:30 pm – 3 pm in Room 207D, Session 140 Meat and Meat Products as Functional Foods: Current Science and Future Marketing Strategies will highlight the current status of research on meat and meat products as functional foods (bioactive lipids and proteins, probiotic fermented sausage, etc.) and include a discussion of how to promote such benefits to a wider audience. In addition, meat may be considered a functional food due to the presence of various bioactive compounds (e.g., carnosine, anserine, L-carnitine, conjugated linoleic acid, glutathione, taurine, and creatine). Bioactive peptides also can be generated from meat hydrolysates. Fermented sausage also can be used as a vehicle for probiotics and prebiotics. Participants will review the potential value of meat and meat products in disease prevention and health promotion and discuss whether the knowledge of potential benefits is sufficient to proceed with marketing these products as functional foods. Attendees will hear the industry-wide perspective and that of a meat processing entrepreneur.