Waitrose to launch UK's first chicken providing a source of omega-3
This unique innovation has been brought to market by Waitrose in partnership with its chicken supplier Moy Park and animal nutrition specialist Devenish Nutrition
Waitrose has announced that it will introduce the UK’s first chicken that is a source of omega-3 — a groundbreaking move for a British supermarket.
Omegas 3s are polyunsaturated fatty acids that, as a key part of a balanced diet, help to maintain normal heart, brain and vision function.
Research undertaken in 2013 showed that people with the highest levels of omega-3 had a 40% reduction in cardiovascular related deaths compared with people with the lowest levels. Optimum health benefits are obtained from a daily intake of 250mg of omega-3 fatty acids as part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle.
Despite leading authorities recommending regular consumption of foods containing omega-3, research suggests that only 23% of the UK’s adult population consumes the recommended intake, generally classified as at least one portion of oily fish per week. Intake levels are particularly low in children and young people.
The new omega-3 chicken, which is unique to Waitrose, is produced by Moy Park on family farms in Northern Ireland to Waitrose’s bespoke high welfare standards, which include plenty of natural light and more space than the industry standards allowing the birds to display natural behaviour. The chicken is enriched by feeding the birds on a diet containing an algae — the family of aquatic plants that includes kelp and seaweed — naturally rich in omega-3. The taste and appearance of the chicken is the same as birds reared on a conventional diet.
This unique innovation has been brought to market by Waitrose in partnership with its chicken supplier Moy Park and animal nutrition specialist Devenish Nutrition. The project, which has taken a decade to bring to market, came about as a result of concerns within the medical community that consumers were not including enough sources of omega-3 in their diets; this is of particular concern in children, who often do not like oily fish. To help improve intake, the idea was conceived of developing a more popular protein containing a source of omega-3. Chicken is Waitrose’s top selling protein.
Heather Jenkins, Waitrose’s Agricultural Director, said: 'Our research is showing that this nutritional breakthrough has the potential to have a significant impact on health. What’s exciting is that it’s improving the nutritional content of something which customers already consume frequently as part of their diets.'
Professor Chris Elliott, Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, at Queen’s University Belfast, said: 'It’s costing £10 billion a year to deal with problems of heart disease in the UK. Having a source of omega-3 in our diet has the potential for healthier hearts.'
Professor Patrick Wall, Professor of Public Health, University College Dublin, added: 'This is actually going to revolutionise nutrition. The idea that you can make an everyday product healthier suggests you could have a huge impact on health.'
Dr Joanne Lunn, Waitrose Nutritionist, says: 'This chicken will make a really useful contribution to our customers' omega-3 intake as we know it can be hard to consume enough omega-3 from other sources, especially if you are not a fan of fish.'
Justin Coleman, Moy Park Agriculture Development Manager, said: 'Food and farming innovation are important focus areas for Moy Park and we are proud to be the first poultry company in the UK to produce chicken enriched with omega-3. Including omega-3 in the chickens' natural diet makes this already healthy food even healthier.'
Initial trials have demonstrated that people eating enriched chicken for just 5 weeks have increased levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and see measurable effects on their cardiovascular health.
Initial testing was done on 30 healthy participants whose omega-3 levels were measured after one, three and five weeks of eating three servings per week of omega-3 enriched chicken meat. On average participants saw their levels of omega-3s increase by 12%.
