MXPA00001558A - A method for increasing incorporation efficiency of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid in poultry meat - Google Patents

Abstract

A feeding regime for increasing the incorporation efficiency of omega-3 HUFAs in poultry meat is disclosed. Specifically, the poultry is fed a higher amount of omega-3 HUFAs in the late phase of poultry's production period than in the early phase.

Description

A METHOD TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF INCORPORATION OF HIGHLY UNSATURATED FATTY ACID OMEGA-3 IN MEAT OF BIRDS OF CORRAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for increasing the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in poultry meat, by feeding poultry with a higher amount of highly unsaturated fatty acids. omega-3 in the last phase of its production period than in the earlier phase.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) omega-3 (n-3) have been recognized as important dietary compounds for infant and maternal nutrients, which maintain cardiovascular and normal immune system health, and to retard growth of tumor cells. The beneficial effects of these fatty acids can be obtained by eating fish many times a week, or by taking concentrated fish oil daily, which is available as a dietary source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. There is much interest in enriching poultry and pork with omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids to provide consumers with additional dietary options to obtain these nutritionally important fatty acids. It is well known that the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of poultry and pork meat can be increased by including a source of these fatty acids in the feed of poultry and pigs. The currently available sources of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids for use in food include fish oil and fish food seaweed, flax seed, rape seed, soybean seed, avocado flesh, flaxseed oil, and ca oil. Because these fatty acids are unstable, and their oxidation products can lead to the development of bad taste and odors in the meat, they need to be added to the feed at low concentrations and in stable form. Fish oil is notoriously unstable due to oxidation, and there are recommendations regarding limiting its use in portions of young chickens to avoid the development of bad tastes / odors. One can use highly refined / deodorized fish oils and / or microencapsulate them, but both processes significantly increase the cost of fish oil for use in the feed, and deodorized oils are still rapidly susceptible to oxidation unless they are microencapsulated Microalgae provide a source of stable, naturally encapsulated omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids, but these are relatively expensive to grow under controlled conditions such as fermenters. It can produce meat enriched with omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids of better quality, and better taste, if you could develop ways to use these more expensive sources of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids effectively and economically in poultry feed. and pigs. One of the most important improvements that can be made in this process of enrichment with omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids would be to find a way to significantly increase the incorporation efficiency of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the diet inside the meat. resulting. This would solve two key problems that currently limit the commercial production of meat enriched with highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids; (1) the high cost of production; and (2) the taste and odor problems in the resulting meat. Less than the high-quality omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid feed sources would be required to achieve an objective level of enrichment, thereby significantly reducing the cost of meats. Additionally, a higher, nutritionally more beneficial concentration of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids can be achieved in the meat, if desired, without organoleptic compromise. Conversely, lower amounts of lower quality, more economical sources of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids (eg, crude fish oil) can be used to achieve significant, but lower, undeveloped enrichment levels. organoleptic problems in the meat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for increasing the incorporation efficiency of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in a poultry meat, by feeding poultry with a higher amount of highly unsaturated fatty acids omega-3 in the last phase of the poultry production period than in the earlier phase. Preferably, the poultry are fed a majority of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids during the remaining productivity period after they have reached approximately sixty percent of their target weight, more preferably, they are fed to the poultry with at least approximately 60 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the remaining productivity period, after these have reached approximately sixty percent of their target weight, still more preferred, are fed to poultry with at least about 80 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the remaining productivity period, after they have reached approximately sixty percent of their target weight, and more preferably feeds poultry substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the remaining productivity period, after they have reached approximately sixty percent of their target weight. Alternatively, poultry is fed a majority of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids for the final thirty percent of its productivity period, preferably fed to poultry with at least approximately 60 days of age. percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the final thirty percent of their productivity period, most preferably poultry are fed with at least 80 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the thirty percent final of their productivity period, and more preferably poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the final thirty percent of their productivity period.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As used above and throughout this description, it should be understood that the following terms, unless otherwise indicated, have the following meanings: "Highly unsaturated fatty acid" or "HUFA" refers to to a polyunsaturated fatty acid having at least 20 carbon atoms in length. "Efficiency of incorporation" refers to the ratio of the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids present in poultry meat to the total amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids fed to poultry. "Incorporation efficiency rate" refers to the ratio of the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids present in poultry meat to the total amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids fed to poultry. corral during a given period. "Feeding rate" refers to the proportion of the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids fed to poultry in a given period. "High unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of the food" refers to the percentage, by weight, of a source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. "Constant content of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the food" refers to feeds in which the content of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the food is relatively equal. Preferably, the variation of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid content of food is less than about 2 percent, more preferably less than about 1 percent, and most preferably less than about 0.5 percent. It should be noted, however, that the exact amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of the food may vary slightly from one batch to another, due to a variety of factors including variability in the food production process , and a natural variability of the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids present in the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. "Variable omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid content feeding regimen" refers to a feeding regimen in which livestock birds are fed a food having a different content of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids from the diet. food, at least once during the period of production of the poultry. "Source of low quality omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids" refers to a source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids that has been refined at most only partially, to remove organoleptically related contaminants and decomposed products. A source of low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids may contain the oxidized product of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids and / or free or alkylated amines, thereby imparting an undesirable odor or taste to the poultry which they have been fed a sufficient amount of low quality omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids. Sources of exemplary low-quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids include some fish oils and fish meats. "Organoleptic" refers to undesirable flavors and / or odors primarily due to decomposed products of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids, such as aldehydes and ketones and / or decomposed products of proteins such as alkylated amines. "Production period" refers to a period of time from hatching a poultry to its slaughter; therefore, this is not necessarily equal to the life expectancy of the animal. "Poultry" refers to any poultry species that are used as a food. Exemplary poultry include chickens, turkeys, game chickens of Cournalles, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese and chicks. Preferably, the poultry are selected from the group consisting of chicken and turkey, and most preferably a tender chicken. In the United States, a tender chicken is a chicken raised for food, and has an average production period of approximately seven weeks. However, it should be noted that tender chicken in other countries may have a different production period. For example, a tender chicken in some countries may have a production period of from about 4 weeks to about 5 weeks, while in other countries a tender chicken may have a production period of from about 10 weeks to about 12 weeks. The length of the production period depends on the breed of young chicken and the size of the bird desired by consumers in a particular country. "Taste evaluation" refers to a method for evaluating the taste of a particular food by consumers, using a given flavor evaluation scale. The present invention provides a method for increasing the incorporation efficiency of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in poultry meat. Specifically, the method of the present invention provides a poultry feeding regimen that results in a higher incorporation efficiency of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the meat of poultry, as compared to a diet constant feed of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of feed, where poultry are fed a constant content of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids of feed throughout its production period. It should be noted that in a constant feeding regime of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid content of feed, the percentage of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the feed remains relatively constant throughout the production period. The method of the present invention involves feeding a poultry with a higher amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the last phase of the poultry production period. Preferably, a majority of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are fed to the poultry during the remaining productivity period after it has reached almost sixty percent of its target weight, most preferably the poultry is feeds with at least approximately 60 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the remaining productivity period after it has reached approximately sixty percent of its target weight, still more preferably feeds the poultry with at least about 80 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the remaining productivity period after it has reached approximately sixty percent of its target weight, and more preferably, it is fed to the poultry with substantially all the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the period of productivity res after it has reached approximately sixty percent of its target weight. Alternatively, the poultry is fed a majority of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during its final thirty percent of the productivity period, preferably fed to the poultry with at least about 60 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during their final thirty percent of the productivity period, more preferably the poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during its final thirty percent of the productivity period, and most preferably the poultry is fed substantially all the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during their final thirty percent of the productivity period. The method of the present invention for increasing the incorporation efficiency of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in poultry meat is generally used in poultry that are raised for their meat. The method of the present invention can also be used to increase the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in poultry meat that lay eggs, such as chickens, after their period of egg production. The method of the present invention provides at least about 50 percent higher high unsaturated fatty acid incorporation efficiency compared to any other known prior known diet regimen that uses the same total amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid during the production period, other preference at least about 75 percent, still more preferably at least about 100 percent, and most preferably at least about 200 percent. Since the method of the present invention provides a higher omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid incorporation efficiency compared to any other known feed regimes, the method of the present invention allows the use of a smaller total amount of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids than any other previously known diet method to achieve the same amount of incorporation of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in poultry meats. Alternatively, the method of the present invention provides poultry meats that have a significantly greater amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids by using the same total amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids as the regimes of known prior art. Furthermore, the incorporation efficiency of the improved omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid of the present invention may allow the use of some sources of omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid of l quality, without the undesirable effects on the meat such as odor and / or taste because these sources can be used in food in l concentrations or amounts. Previous feed regimes using a fish-based omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source, such as fish oil and / or fishmeal, suspend the administration of feed containing the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source. 3 based on fish for about the last one or two weeks of the poultry production period, to reduce the undesirable taste and / or smell of poultry meat. In contrast, the method of the present invention allows the use of a fish-based omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source during these time periods. The highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the food refers to any ingredient known to contain the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, including isolated or concentrated highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. Exemplary ingredients containing highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids include sources based on marine organisms, such as fish, fish oils, krill, shrimp and macroalgae; sources based on microbes, such as microalgae and bacteria; plant-based sources that include genetically engineered plants that produce the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids; highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids isolated; and encapsulated forms of any of the above sources. In the Patents of the United States of North America Nos. 5,656,319; 5,698,244 and 5,688,500, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, exemplary sources of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are described. Preferably, a source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is selected from the group consisting of microbial-based sources, including microalgae and other microorganisms; fish, fish oils, fish meal, other residual biomass containing the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, and mixtures thereof. More preferably, the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source is a microbial-based source. Still more preferably, the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source is a microorganism of the order Thraustochytriales, even more preferably, the source of highly unsaturated fatty acid omega-3 is selected from the group consisting of microorganisms of the genus Thraustochytrium. , Schizochytrium and a mixture thereof, and more preferably, from the group consisting of Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20888, Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20899 and a mixture thereof. Although a source containing a precursor of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, such as flax seed, naba seed, soybean seed, avocado flour, linseed oil, and canola oil in the feed, can be used, the method of the present invention generally does not provide a sufficient period of time for a poultry to convert a significant amount of these precursors to highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. It should be recognized that the use of a low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid source such as some fish, fish meal or fish oils as a source of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid may cause a taste and / or strong fishy odor that usually negatively affects the flavor of the food and / or meat. Therefore, when a source of low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid is used, it is preferred that a sufficiently small amount be used to produce a poultry that exhibits a meat flavor percentage of about 30 per cent. percent of the flavor percentage of the meat of a poultry that was produced without a source of highly unsaturated fatty acid omega-3 in its food, more preferably within about 20 percent, still more preferred within about 10 percent, and most preferably within approximately 50 percent. In particular, when a source of low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid containing a fish oil is used, for example, it is preferred that the total amount of fish oil present in the feed be less than about 2. percent, more preferably less than about 1 percent and most preferably less than about 0.5 percent. Fish meals generally contain approximately 10 percent fish oil. The method of the present invention allows the feeding of the necessary amount of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids in a shorter period of time than the previous feeding regimes, to obtain the same level of incorporation of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the meat; therefore, the undesired effects on the meat are decreased by using a source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid by exposing the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source for a shorter period of time in the environment of Generally elevated oxidation (for ingredients that are based on oil) of encapsulated or crushed foods. Without being compromised by any theory, it is believed that the method of the present invention increases the incorporation efficiency of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids by providing omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids to poultry during the period when they incorporate the fatty acids highly unsaturated omega-3 more efficiently within its meat and by means of minimizing the time in which the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids remain in the feed (exposed to the oxidizing effects of air, light and / or temperature) , thereby reducing the amount of oxidation and providing more of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source to the poultry. The method of the present invention for increasing the incorporation efficiency of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids by poultry includes subjecting the poultry to a variable omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid content feeding regimen. The present method can also be used to increase the incorporation efficiency of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in other animals that are suitable for human consumption, including, but not limited to, domestic animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and buffalo The amount of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid incorporation efficiency can be quantitatively determined by a poultry by measuring the amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids in the feed and poultry meat. corral. A "meat" refers to any portion of the poultry that can incorporate the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. Preferably, the meat is selected from the group consisting of fat, skin, organs, muscle, and bone marrow. The additional objects, advantages, and novel features of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art, after they examine the following examples thereof, which are not intended to be limiting.

EXAMPLES Table 1 shows growth and consumption of typical food of young chickens.

Table 1. Typical body weights and feeding requirements of young chickens during a production cycle. Age Body Weight Weekly Consumption Cumulative Consumption (weeks (grams) of Food (g) of Food (g)) male female male female male female 1 152 144 135 131 135 131 2 376 344 290 273 425 404 3 686 617 487 444 912 848 4 1085 965 704 642 1616 1490 1576 1344 960 738 2576 2228 2088 1741 1141 1001 3717 3229 7 2590 2134 1281 1081 4998 4310 Of the Poultry Nutrient Requirements of the National Research Council (NRC), 9a. ed., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C, 1994.

Using these data, the growth performance data for young chickens are calculated and summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Typical performance characteristics of young chickens calculated from the data in Table 1. Week% Weight Gain% Food Consumption Total Total Ratio Male Food Conversion Male female female male 1-5 60.8 63.0 51.5 51.7 1.63 1.66 6-7 39.2 37.0 48.5 48.3 1.93 2.02 As can be seen in Table 2, a feeding regimen with constant omega-3 content would provide approximately 50 percent of the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids during the first 5 weeks of growth and approximately 50 percent in the last two weeks of growth. Tender chickens complete approximately 60 percent of their growth in the first 5 weeks of growth and their feed conversion is significantly greater during this time period compared to the last two weeks of growth. A "feed conversion" refers to a ratio of feed intake to body weight, and therefore is a rough estimate of the efficiency of tender chicken when using feed to increase body weight.

Example 1 This example illustrates the incorporation efficiency of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid from a feed regime using a constant omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid content. The sex of two thousand two hundred and forty young chicks was determined on the day they hatched and they were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments. Three of the treatments (tender chicken rations that were formulated to meet the requirements of the NRC (NRC, 1994)) provided DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, C22: 6n-3) in the form of Schizochytrium sp. dry (DHA at 17.5 percent as a percentage by dry weight) at the following concentrations: 0.09 percent, 0.27 percent, and 0.45 percent by weight. The fourth treatment was a tender chicken control ration that met the requirements of the NRC, but did not contain any source of DHA.

Each dietary treatment contained 560 young chickens divided into eight duplicates (n = 70, 35 males, 35 females). It was fed with food to the birds under the standard 3-phase feeding program: starter (day 0-21); brooder (day 22-42); and terminator (day 43-49). Balls were given to all the rations before feeding the birds. The concentration in each ration was verified by gas chromatography. At the end of the 49 days, two birds (one male, one female) of each duplicate were sacrificed and the DHA content of the meat (without skin) was determined as methyl esters of fatty acid by gas chromatography. The results are presented in Table 3. The enrichment of the three highly unsaturated omega 3 fatty acids (DHA, docosahexaenoic acid, C22: 6n-3, DPA, docosapentaenoic acid, C22: 5n-3, and EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid, C20: 5n-3). As a point of comparison, the DHA concentrations in the resulting breast meat were 17, 31, 64 and 71 milligrams / 100 grams, respectively, for 0.09, 0.09, 0.27 and 0.45 percent DHA levels in the feed .

Table 3. Levels of Omega-3 Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acid enrichment that were obtained in young chickens when the chickens were fed a fixed amount of DHA as a percentage of their ration during the entire production cycle. The data are intermediate and standard deviations of four breasts and thighs of each treatment. Content of HUFA Omega-3 of Long Chain Amount DHA in Qty Total DHA Sample of DHAn-3 DPAn-3 EPAn-3 LCn-3 Total Meal of Feed Consumed (g) 1 Meat (mg / lOOg) (mg / lOOg) (mg / lOOg) (mg / lOOg) 0.00% breast 16.6 ± 11.0 5.0 ± 0.6 0 + 0 21.6 thigh 16.8 ± 12.7 4.4 ± 0.1 0.1 ± 0.2 21.3 0.09% breast 31.1 ± 3.6 5.2 ± 0.2 O ± O 36.3 thigh 30.0 ± 1.6 5.9 ± 0.9 0.3 ± 0.3 36.5 0.27% 12 breast 63.9 ± 1.1 6.5 ± 0.4 O ± O 70.4 thigh 58.4 ± 9.1 7.9 ± 0.1 0.6 ± 0.4 66.9 0.45% 20 breast 70.7 ± 5.6 7.0 ± 1.3 O ± O 77.7 thigh 92.1 ± 13.0 9.7 ± 1.1 1.5 ± 0.4 103.3 1 Total grams of DHA that was fed to the young chickens for 49 days.

Example 2 This example illustrates the incorporation efficiency of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid using a variable omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid content feeding regimen. Two thousand five hundred young chickens were placed (birds that were not determined sex at the time of placement) in 50 commercial production pens, 50 birds per pen. Ten pens were assigned randomly to the control treatment and 8 pens were assigned randomly to each of the 5 treatments. The treatments consisted of 5 variable feeding regimes, 4 of which provided a total of 3.6 grams of DHA and one of which provided a total of 5 grams of DHA to the birds during at least 14 days of their production cycle of 49 days. The variable feed proportion treatments (total percentage of DHA consumed during days 36-43 / total percentage of DHA consumed during days 44-49) were as follows: 4 grams of total DHA as 100% / 0%; 85% / l5%; 67% / 33%; 50% / 50%; and 5 grams of the total DHA as 67% / 33%. There was also a control treatment in which the young chickens were fed a ration without any DHA. All diets were tender chicken feed formulated commercially and were isocaloric and isonitrogenic within each feeding period (starter, brooder, and terminator). All the rations were made balls before feeding them to the birds. DHA was provided in rations such as Schizochytrium sp. dry with a DHA content of 12.8% dry weight. At the end of the 49-day production cycle, 10 birds were randomly collected from each treatment, slaughtered, processed and then frozen. After analyzing the frozen samples of breast meat to see the content of DHA, by gas chromatography. Table 4 summarizes the enrichment levels of DHA and the total omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids.

Table 4. Enrichment levels of long chain Omega-3 Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids that were obtained in young chickens when the chicks were fed all DHA for enrichment purposes during the last 14 days of the 49-day production cycle. The data are intermediate and standard deviations of ten breasts per treatment. Content of HUFA Omega-3 of Long Chain Cant. Tot. DHA in Sample Strategy DHAn-3 LCn-3 Total Proportion Feed Ration Meat Enrichment1 (mg / lOOg) (mg / lOOg) n-6 / n-3 0 0% / 0% breast 16.7 + 1.7 27.7 ± 3.3 14.5 3.6 100% / 0% breast 52.8 + 2.6 58.0 + 2.8 3.6 3.6 85% / 15% breast 77.4 + 5.5 88.1 +5.3 2.8 3.6 67% / 33% breast 51.8 +4.8 62.2 + 8.0 4.6 3.6 50/50% breast 66.0 ± 4.4 72.3 +4.7 3.2 5.0 67% / 33% breast 79.0 ± 3.7 92.2 + 5.4 3.0 1 Enrichment strategy = Total% DHA consumed during days 36-43 /% Total DHA consumed during days 44-49. DHA contents of breast meat ranged from 52-77 milligrams / 100 grams of breast meat for treatments that provided 3.6 grams of total DHA and 79 milligrams for the only treatment that contained 5 grams of total DHA. Normalized at the dose of 4 grams that was used in Example 1, these results represent the DHA contents of the breast meat in the range of approximately 58-86 milligrams / 100 grams of breast meat. It should also be noted that the incorporation efficiency is still approximately linear in the range that was evaluated in this Example (eg, 3.6 grams @ 67% / 33% = 52 milligrams DHA / 100 grams breast meat versus 5.0 grams DHA @ 67% / 33% = 79 milligrams DHA / 100 grams breast meat) compared to the inverse exponential response (much less efficient response) than was observed in Example 1, which used a constant proportion feeding strategy. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changes and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention, and that these changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims cover all such equivalent variations that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (73)

1. A method for increasing the amount of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid in poultry meat comprising feeding a food to poultry, wherein the feed comprises a source of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, and wherein the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of the feed is higher in a late phase of the poultry production period than in the earlier phase; and wherein the amount of any low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid source oil is less than 2 weight percent of the food.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source is selected from the group consisting of sources based on marine organisms, microbial-based sources, and plant-based sources.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source is selected from the group consisting of algae, fish oil, fishmeal and mixtures thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is a marine microorganism.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is a microorganism of the Thraustochytriales order.

6. The method of compliance with the claim 1, wherein the source of low quality unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is fish oil, fish meal or other residual biomass from which the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid has been extracted.

7. The method of compliance with the claim 1, where poultry is fed a majority of that highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source after the poultry reach approximately sixty percent of their target weight.

8. The method of compliance with the claim 1, where poultry are fed with at least about 60 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source, after the poultry reach approximately sixty percent of their target weight.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source, after the poultry reach approximately sixty percent of your target weight.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source, after the poultry reach approximately sixty percent of their weight objective.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry is fed a majority of that source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid for about the final thirty percent of the period of production of the poultry .

The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry is fed with at least about 60 percent of the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid for about the final thirty percent of the production period of poultry.

The method according to claim 1, wherein poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid for about the final thirty percent of the production period of poultry.

The method according to claim 1, wherein poultry is fed the full source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid for about the final thirty percent of the period of poultry production.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the poultry meat is at least about 50 percent higher than in the control poultry meat, which has been fed the same total amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source, but at a relatively constant omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid content during the substantially similar production period of the poultry.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry are selected from the group consisting of chickens and turkeys.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry are young chickens.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is DHA.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the DHA with which the poultry are fed during the production period is at least about 0.5 grams.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the breast meat of the poultry contains at least about 25 milligrams of DHA per 100 grams of breast meat.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the thigh meat of the poultry contains at least about 25 milligrams of DHA per 100 grams of thigh meat.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source during approximately the final two weeks of the poultry production period.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source during the period in which approximately the last 50 percent of the total feed is consumed. of poultry.

The method according to claim 1, wherein the oxidation of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source is desirably kept low by minimizing the exposure time of that omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source to oxidative conditions.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the meat of the poultry includes fat, skin, 3 organs, muscle and bone marrow.

26. A method for increasing the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in poultry meat comprising feeding a food to poultry, wherein the feed comprises a source of the highly unsaturated fatty acid omega-3. 3, and where the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of the feed is higher in a late phase of the poultry production period than in the earlier phase; and wherein the amount of low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid source that is fed to the poultry is limited to an amount that provides an acceptable taste, with no more than an acceptable amount of flavors and odors present due to to the oxidation of the low-quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid source.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is selected from the group consisting of algae, fish oil, fish meal and mixtures thereof.

28. The method of compliance with the claim 26, in which the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is a microorganism of the Thraustochytriales order.

29. The method according to claim 26, wherein the source of low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid is fish oil, fish meal or other residual biomass from which the high fatty acid has been extracted. unsaturated omega-3.

30. The method according to claim 26, wherein the poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source, after the poultry reach approximately sixty percent of your target weight.

31. The method of compliance with the claim 26, where poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source, after the poultry reaches approximately sixty percent of its target weight.

32. The method of compliance with the claim 26, where poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source for approximately the final thirty percent of the poultry production period.

33. The method according to claim 26, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source for about the final thirty percent of the poultry production period.

34. The method according to claim 26, wherein the concentration amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in poultry meat is at least about 50 percent higher than in control poultry meat , which have been fed with the same total amount of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source, but at a relatively constant omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid content of the feed during the substantially similar production period of the birds of corral

35. The method according to claim 26, wherein the poultry is selected from the group consisting of chickens and turkeys.

36. The method according to claim 26, wherein the poultry are young chickens.

37. The method according to claim 26, wherein the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is DHA.

38. The method according to claim 26, wherein the DHA with which the poultry are fed during the life cycle or growth of the poultry is at least about 0.5 grams.

39. The method according to claim 26, wherein the breast meat of the poultry contains at least about 25 milligrams of DHA per 100 grams of breast meat.

40. The method according to claim 26, wherein the thigh meat of the poultry contains at least about 25 milligrams of DHA per 100 grams of thigh meat.

41. The method according to claim 26, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source during approximately the final two weeks of the poultry production period.

42. The method according to claim 26, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source during the period in which approximately the last 50 percent of the total feed is consumed. of poultry.

43. The method according to claim 26, wherein the oxidation of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source is desirably kept low by minimizing the exposure time of that omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source to oxidative conditions.

44. The method according to claim 26, where the meat of the poultry includes fat, skin, organs, muscle and bone marrow.

45. A method for increasing the amount of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in poultry meat comprising feeding a food to poultry, wherein the feed comprises a source of the highly unsaturated fatty acid omega-3. 3, and where the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid content of the feed is higher in a late phase of the poultry production period than in the earlier phase; and wherein the incorporation efficiency is at least 50 percent greater than the incorporation efficiency of any previously known poultry feeding protocol to increase the amount of a highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the meat of poultry. corral.

46. The method according to claim 45, wherein the incorporation efficiency is at least 75 percent greater than the incorporation efficiency of any previously known poultry feeding protocol to increase the amount of a highly unsaturated fatty acid Omega-3 in the meat of poultry.

47. The method according to claim 45, wherein the incorporation efficiency is at least 100 percent greater than the incorporation efficiency of any previously known poultry feeding protocol to increase the amount of a highly unsaturated fatty acid. Omega-3 in the meat of poultry.

48. The method of compliance with the claim In the embodiment, the incorporation efficiency is at least 200 percent greater than the incorporation efficiency of any poultry feeding protocol known above to increase the amount of a highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the meat of the poultry.

49. The method according to claim 45, wherein the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is selected from the group consisting of algae, fish oil, fishmeal and mixtures thereof.

50. The method of compliance with the claim 45, wherein the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is a microorganism of the order of Thraustochytriales.

51. The method according to claim 45, wherein the source of low quality omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid is fish oil, fish meal or other residual biomass from which the high fatty acid has been extracted. unsaturated omega-3.

52. The method according to claim 45, wherein the poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source, after the poultry reaches approximately sixty percent of your target weight.

53. The method according to claim 45, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source, after the poultry reach approximately sixty percent of their weight objective.

54. The method of compliance with the claim 45, wherein poultry is fed with at least about 80 percent of the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid for about the final thirty percent of the poultry production period.

55. The method according to claim 45, wherein poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source for about the final thirty percent of the poultry production period.

56. The method according to claim 45, wherein the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid is DHA.

57. The method according to claim 45, wherein the total amount of DHA with which the poultry are fed during the life cycle or growth of the poultry is at least about 0.5 grams.

58. The method according to claim 45, wherein poultry is fed with • 3.8 substantially all 1 ^, omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source during approximately the final two weeks of the production period of the poultry.

59. The method according to claim 45, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source during the period in which approximately the last 50 percent is consumed. of the total food of the poultry.

60. The method of compliance with the claim 45, wherein the oxidation of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source is desirably kept low by minimizing the exposure time of that omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid source to oxidative conditions.

61. The method of compliance with the claim 45, wherein the meat of the poultry includes fat, skin, organs, muscle and bone marrow.

62. A method for increasing uptake sees a highly unsaturated omega-fatty acid by an animal in relation to a constant proportion feeding protocol, wherein the constant proportion feeding protocol comprises feeding the animal during the production period of the animal. that animal with a constant-level feed, which comprises a substantially constant level of a source of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, which & '; ^ comprises: (a) feeding the animal with a variable feed so that the level of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source in the variable feed varies during the animal's production period, where the variable feed comprises the source of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, and wherein the total amount of the source of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid that is given to the animal during the period of production of that animal is substantially equal to that of the animal. total amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source that was given to the animal during the period of production of that animal, using the constant proportion feeding protocol; (b) analyze the meat of the animal in order to determine the level of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid in the meat; and (c) devise a variable proportion feeding protocol for the animal, based on the amount of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid uptake that was determined in step (b), in order to substantially increase acid uptake highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid by the animal in relation to the constant proportion feeding protocol.

63. The method according to claim 62, wherein the variable proportion feeding protocol results in at least about 50 percent increase in the concentration of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the meat of the animal, in relationship with the concentration of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the meat of the animal, which has been fed a substantially equal total amount of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid using the constant proportion feed protocol.

64. The method according to claim 62, wherein the variable proportion feeding protocol uses less than about 50 percent of the total amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source compared to the feeding protocol of constant proportion, to achieve a substantially similar concentration of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid in the meat of that animal.

65. A method for feeding poultry comprising: feeding poultry with at least fifty percent of the total amount of a source of a highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid to poultry for thirty percent end of the period of production of the poultry or during the potion of the production period during which the poultry gain the final forty percent of their target weight. ^ 4

66. The method according to claim 65, wherein the source of highly unsaturated fatty acid omega-3 is selected from the group consisting of algae, fish oil, fishmeal and mixtures thereof.

67. The method according to the claim 65, wherein the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid source comprises a microorganism on the order of the Thraustochytriales.

68. The method according to claim 65, wherein the poultry is fed substantially all of the source of highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid during the final thirty percent of the poultry production period or during the portion of the production period during which the poultry gain the final forty percent of a target weight.

69. The method according to claim 65, wherein the poultry is fed the total amount of the highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acid during the final thirty percent of the poultry production period or during the portion of the production period during which the poultry gain the final forty percent of the target weight is at least about 0.5 grams.

70. A food product comprising the meat of the poultry that was produced by the method of claim 1.

71. A food product comprising the meat of the poultry that was produced by the method of claim 26.

72. A food product comprising the meat of the poultry that was produced by the method of claim 45.

73. A food product comprising the meat of the poultry that was produced by the method of claim 65.