Consumers in the US will soon have access to ground beef enhanced with additional Omega-3 fatty acids, a report issued by Science Daily said this week.

Kansas State University researcher, Professor Jim Drouillard, professor of animal sciences and industry, has developed a technique that enriches ground beef with omega-3 fatty acids – compounds that have been shown to reduce heart disease, cholesterol and high blood pressure.

So-called ‘functional foods’ where beneficial ingredients like vitamins, minerals or anti-oxidants are added to everyday items like bread, milk or orange juice have been around for a decade, but the process is only now starting to emerge in meat proteins.

The enriched ground beef will be labelled GreatO Premium Ground Beef and is being commercialised by Kansas-based company NBO3 Technologies. The products will be available later this month in New York, and distribution will expand to leading US retailers and restaurants nationwide later this year.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish and plant oils, Science Daily said. Beneficial levels are also found in beef, but vary depending on feeding practises, with grainfeeding programs tending to reduce the concentration. Wagyu beef inherently contains higher levels of omega-3 than beef from other breeds, research has shown.   

The US currently does not have a recommended daily intake of omega-3s, though many doctors and nutritionists recommend 1200-1600 milligrams daily, depending on a person's age and health.

A quarter-pound hamburger made of the enriched ground beef has 200mG of omega-3, Prof Drouillard said. This makes the ground beef an alternative for people who want to add or increase their omega-3 fatty acids intake but do not want fish or supplements to do so.

"As a society, Americans' consumption of fish, especially fish that contributes to these omega-3 fats, is quite low compared to other proteins," Prof Drouillard said.

"Reasons for this include cost, access to fish and personal preference. Americans do, however, like hamburgers. So if we can give people a hamburger that is rich in omega-3s, it's an alternative form of a product that they already eat and does not require a lifestyle change, which is difficult to make."

The health benefits of omega-3s are not limited to humans. Studies show that dairy and beef cattle with an enriched diet of flaxseed and other omega-3 rich grains have fewer respiratory diseases. The cattle also exhibit higher fertility rates, Science Daily said.

The technology to enrich ground beef with omega-3s is a spinoff of flaxseed research Prof Drouillard began in 1998. He and his students studied flax for several of its omega-3 fatty acids that may suppress inflammation and reduce diabetes in cattle. Research showed that omega-3 levels dramatically increased in the cattle as more flaxseed was introduced into their diet.

Keeping the omega-3s from becoming saturated fats in cattle's digestive system is a challenge, however. Microorganisms in the rumen modify most of the ingested fats and turn them into saturated fats.

This causes ground beef to have low levels of omega-3s. Research has focussed on ways to protect the omega-3 in the animals’ diet so it is not broken down into saturated fat, to enhance the fat profile of beef.

According to Prof Drouillard, substituting omega-3 fatty acids for saturated fats does not change the ground beef's flavour.

"Knowing that there are a lot of desirable flavour characteristics associated with the fat in beef, we performed sensory panel tests through Kansas State University's meat science faculty and with the department of human nutrition to ensure that the flavour is not compromised," he said.

"Our panellists were never able to detect appreciable differences in the flavour profiles of the omega-3 rich beef and non-omega-3 beef, even though the fats are quite different."

The NBO3 Technologies company has worked closely with Prof Drouillard in developing and commercialising the concept, and after more than a decade of research on improving the enrichment process through cattle diet, have started to distribute omega-3 enriched ground beef to retailers and food service providers.

The ground beef is part of the company's line of omega-3 enriched foods, which already includes pork, chicken, cheese, milk, butter and ice cream.

It will be the first ground beef to carry the US Food and Drug Administration's seal of approval for omega-3 fatty acid content.

NBO3 Technologies said consumer response in test markets had been positive.