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E. A. DECKER, Dept. of Food Science, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, 236 Chenoweth Lab., Box 31410, Amherst, MA 01003-1410 Consumption of dietary omega-3 fatty acids is essential for promotion and maintenance of good health, especially for pregnant and lactating women, and individuals with coronary heart disease, diabetes, mental illness and immune response disorders. Omega-3 fatty acids improve health by a variety of mechanisms including maintenance of cell membrane function, involvement in eicosanoid pathways and depression of blood lipid levels. Fish are a major source of dietary omega-3 fatty acids and several studies have shown that increased consumption of seafood can increase health. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that the level of omega-3 fatty acids currently consumed by the general population is inadequate. Consequently, there is an urgent need for inexpensive, desirable and convenient functional foods containing physiologically significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Such foods could be produced from a variety of omega-3 sources including fish oils, algal oils, linseed oil and ethyl esters of omega-3 fatty acids. These oils vary considerably in their concentration and type of omega-3 fatty acids, price and oxidative stability. To be able to successfully incorporate these oils into functional foods, their oxidation must be controlled. Several strategies have been developed to increase the oxidative stability of bulk oils high in omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, many of these antioxidative strategies show limited success when utilized in heterogeneous food systems. Development of functional foods that have nutritionally significant levels of omega-3 fatty acids that do not undergo oxidative deterioration is essential if these products are to be accepted by consumers.
Session 38, Challenges in the development of functional foods with omega-3 fatty acids
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