Omega-3 (alpha-linoleic acid or ALA) and Omega-6 (linoleic acid) are essential types of fats which the human body cannot produce and must obtain through food.
Omega-3s are found in some fish sources (salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines), marine algae, krill, leafy vegetables, walnuts, green grass and flaxseed, and Omega-6s in corn, soya, sunflower, some nut oils, grains and pulses
Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory agents that work with Omega-6s to build a strong human immune system.
The ideal ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is estimated to be 3:1, but the average North American diet is approximately 25:1 largely because of the introduction of processed foods and grain-fed meat, poultry and dairy products over several decades. This Omega-6 to Omega-3 dietary imbalance has contributed to a number of human health issues – including obesity.
O&T Farms can help to provide a more balanced Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio in the human diet through its all-natural, land-based animal feed product, which enrich beef, pork, poultry, dairy and egg food products with Omega-3s. Enriching Omega-3s in animal feed improves the health profile by decreasing less healthy saturated fats and increasing healthy, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.
Consumers are well aware of Omega-3s and associate them with being ‘good for you’, which is driving retail demand for enriched Omega-3 food products. That’s leading a desire among food processors to incorporate these fatty acids into more common functional foods.
Omega-3 in Eggs, Meat and Dairy
O&T Farms has perfected a proprietary, dry extrusion process to naturally incorporate higher levels of Omega-3s into animals’ diets through our specialty animal feed products linPRO and linPRO-R. These flax-based, non-GMO products can be easily incorporated into chicken feed, beef and dairy cow feed and pig feed to increase Omega-3 levels naturally. This widens the options for processors and retailers to provide Omega-3 eggs, and Omega-3 enriched chicken, turkey, beef, pork and dairy products.
The global Omega-3 market was worth over $234 million in 2015, and a report by Allied Market Research predicts it could grow to $7 billion by 2022.
Customers will also appreciate that products from animals fed with our all-natural, land-based ingredients like flax, pulses and alfalfa, have the same taste, texture, color and smell as standard meats, dairy products or eggs.
O&T Farms has conducted numerous third party trials on meat, dairy and egg products fed with our Omega-3 enriched animal feed supplements. Click the links on the right to read our Food Brochure and learn about the linPRO effect on each particular protein to learn more about our Omega-3 enrichment process and the nutritional results for different protein types.
