Prairie Orchard Farms, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based pork company, has been marketing pork products high in omega-3 fatty acids for nearly a year, after receiving permission to label the pork from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in April 2005.

Unlike the genetically modified process recently developed by U.S. scientists, the Canadian company uses a dietary process that requires no genetic material from worms.

Willy Hoffman, president of Prairie Orchard Farms, says the pigs are fed flaxseed and vitamins in a ration that took six years of trial and error to achieve pork that contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The fatty acids are believed to be heart-healthy and help resistance to other chronic diseases, including cancer.

According to Hoffman, the main problem in developing the "healthy pig" was taste. Flaxseed oil, depending on feed levels, left the meat with a fishy or metallic flavor. By adjusting the amount and duration of flax in the feed, and the addition of vitamins and minerals, the company developed pork that tastes the same as other pork products, but delivers the health benefits of omega-3's, Hoffman says.

The actual amount of fatty acids varies by cut. Since omega-3 fatty acids are found in the fat, bacon from these animals has a much higher level than lean hams. CFIA requires 0.3 grams per hundred grams of dressed weight to make omega-3 claims; Prairie Orchard's hams have 0.4 grams, and the bellies have 2.0 grams.

USDA will not allow meat products to carry omega-3 labeling (eggs and fish come under separate jurisdiction, which does allow such labeling), but Prairie Farms and its U.S. partner, SiouxPreme Pork, are currently talking with USDA about changes in the rules. If USDA relents, the products will probably be marketed in the United States under the name Verdancia Farms.

Prairie Orchard recently received authorization to export its products to Japan, Hoffman says. The company produces about 60,000 pounds of pork each week, with the hogs slaughtered by SiouxPreme and further processing handled by Winnipeg Old Country Sausage, which manufactures bacon, sausage, bologna and other products.

Source:Meatingplace.com/ Pete Hisey, March 30, 2006
Source URL: http://www.meatingplace.com/