Designer Poultry Products, a Simplistic look.

In recent times people have started looking more deeply for health benefits while also becoming more conscious of their food. They are more interested in the food they consume since poultry meat and eggs are an essential part of everybody’s diet. Poultry meat and eggs have high-quality protein and other essential nutrients while being less expensive. Most of the consumers’ concern is food safety i.e. food free from any contamination (pesticide antibiotics mycotoxins etc.). Consumers also indicated affection towards poultry products with reduced amounts of substances such as cholesterol and fat. Also, if we can make these products enriched with substances (omega3 vitamins etc.) beneficial for human health offering

better nutrition we can drive more consumers towards it especially in the case of poultry meat and eggs as these have huge potential.

The above problems are worth looking for and this is where designer products such as meat and eggs come as these have an adequate consumer base as well as the opportunity to grab more.

In the case of Poultry, there are two types of value addition.

- Pre-slaughter i.e. added benefits before the product production like organic functional or designer eggs and meat.

- Post-slaughter i.e. value addition after a product is produced.

In this article we will focus on Pre-slaughter value-added products (designer products).

Designer food

Fortified food, Designer food, or functional food indicate “food having nutritive benefits typically not available in traditional food”. In the case of poultry, we have two major products namely.

- Designer Meat

- Designer eggs.

Designer eggs

The eggs with modified content as compared to standard eggs. Eggs can be made designer by supplementation with specific nutrients or herbs containing these even with specific drugs having functional and therapeutic properties. Hens are fed with a diet enriched with vitamins antioxidants and other nutrients making the output of egg designer.

Eggs are popular around the world hence the center of attention for researchers and scientists alike. Being an inexpensive protein source and available worldwide makes it an excellent subject to modify and improve its content. Researchers are trying to find ways to modify the content of eggs better suited and nutritious for human consumption.

Eggs contain all essential amino acids required for humans as well as different vitamins and minerals including vitamins B9, B2, B6, B12, A, iron, calcium, phosphorous, and potassium.

Egg composition

If we hen’s egg has the following contents,

Water (74%), protein (13%) fat (11%), carbohydrates (1%), and other minor percentages of nutrients.

The egg inside is made up of:

Albumin (60-70%) and Yolk (30-40%). Yolk has about 5.2% cholesterol.

With all this info let’s move to the designer meat/eggs category.

Omega 3 Enriched eggs

Omega 3 fatty acids are PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid) group also regarded as n-3 fatty acids. Human beings as well as birds are unable to synthesize these, making it an essential part of diet.

Its sources include linseed oil, flaxseed oil, soyabean oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, and fish oil. But these feedstuffs have undesirable flavors typically unrelished by human beings. But if we can alter egg composition and incorporate these in it, we can fulfill its nutritional needs.

Antioxidant in eggs

Although eggs naturally contain selenium vitamin E carotenoid pigments etc. and these are sufficient to protect the fat-soluble vitamins and yolk lipids from oxidative rancidity yet for n3 PUFA enriched eggs their level is insufficient. Increasing the antioxidant content in eggs we can have the following benefits.

- Reduced chances of lipid peroxidation

- Fishy taint protection

- Good source of antioxidants for human consumption

- Prevention of destruction of fat-soluble pigments and vitamins

Designer eggs/meat with lower cholesterol levels

Typically, a large egg contains about 200mg of cholesterol and chicken meat has about 60mg of cholesterol (per 100mg)

Hens fed with a diet having copper, chromium, statins, nicotinic acid, garlic, basil, and n-3 PUFA reduce the cholesterol content of carcass and yolk.

Enrichment with carotenoids

Food color is one of the significant traits that play a great role in human consumption and appetite. Carotenoids are natural colors found in nature (plants animals fungi algae). Carotenoids act as antioxidant/ant-carcinogenic(lycopene) coloring to contents (lutein zeaxanthin and capsanthin) and even act as vitamins (lutein as vitamin A for retina protection).

The sources for these include Marigolds, Alfalfa extracts, corn, red pepper, tomato powder, etc.

Immunoglobulin enrichment

In chickens “IgY” acts just like IgG in mammals (humans etc.) and gladly the chicken egg is abundant in it. this “IgY” helps treat human retrovirus Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, E. coli, salmonella, and staphylococcus infections.

Boosting “IgY” content is beneficial, and its sources include Basil leaves, Rosemary, Turmeric, Garlic, Fenugreek, Spirulina, Ashwagandha, Arogya Pacha etc.

n-3 PUFA inclusion

Enrichment of chicken meat with n-3, sources used are fish oil, linseed, and rapeseed in their diet. Their inclusion in the diet results in an increase of Omega 3 fatty acids such as LNA (linolenic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and palmitic and stearic acid concentrations. Omega 3 enrichment didn’t have any bad effect on meat quality such as appearance, flavor juiciness, or acceptability score.

Conclusion.

The poultry industry has grown at an exponential rate in the past few decades and with the advancement of technology things are getting even better. The poultry industry is responsible for providing at least two basic yet widely relished food stuff meat and eggs fulfilling the need of ever-increasing protein demands as the population rises.

Egg containing high quality protein and fat content in an excellent ratio of 1:2 saturated to unsaturated fats is also a source of phosphorus, iron, and other minerals as well as documented source of vitamins. Despite all these great qualities a relatively high content of cholesterol is a major concern.

Designer eggs and meat can solve this problem and many other with the inclusion of different nutrients in their composition. Omega 3 antioxidants and immunoglobin and minerals addition can promote health benefits in consumers. Despite all the efforts animal health should also be considered and humane ways and methods should be used for animal betterment and human betterment as well.