Specialised meat products target promotion of healthy ageing
Ruth Hamill, Cristina Botinestean, Sephora Baugreet, Maurice O’Sullivan, Paula Conroy, Sinéad McCarthy, Terence Hagan, Joe Kerry
Industry impact: Older people need to consume more highquality protein than younger cohorts to help counteract the steep decline in muscle mass that occurs as we age. However, many challenges accompany the ageing process such as decline in sensory acuity, difficulties with chewing and swallowing, and reduced appetite, all of which limit food intake in this cohort. The Meat4Vitality project developed targeted meat products for the growing cohort of over 65s. Red meat is an ideal foodstuff to support healthy ageing, containing the essential amino acids in the right proportions to promote muscle maintenance, as well as key micronutrients, and it also provides an excellent food vehicle for fortification with health-promoting ingredients. Aiming to promote healthy ageing, the researchers developed novel steaks with a softer texture from economical cuts, highly flavoured comminuted products to address chemosensory decline, and protein-enriched beef patties and restructured steaks to deliver approximately 30g of protein in a small portion size (75g), as favoured by older people. Acceptability of many novel products to the target market was demonstrated using consumer panels of over-65s in UCC and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and these panels also showed that within the over-65 cohort, sensory acuity was stratified with age.
Contribution from non-research stakeholders: The project advisory board included major processors, Meat Industry Ireland and UCD dietician, Clare Corish, who provided guidance on product formulation to optimally address healthy ageing.
Other contributors and collaborators: University College Cork, Agri-Food Biosciences Institute.
Funding: This research was funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programme.