218 The nutrition handbook for food processors health. Fatty acids play a role in many conditions such as CHD, cancer, obesity, diabetes and arthritis. These roles can be protective, causative or relatively neutral, depending on the disease, the fatty acid, and the opposing effects of other dietary components. Current dietary advice emphasises balancing the intake of the different fatty acids. The Department of Health( COMA, 1994)has recom mended a reduction in the intake of saturated fat and an increase in the intake of unsaturated fat. Within the unsaturated fatty acids it is recommended to increase he omega-3(n-3) PUFAS relative to the omega-6(n-6) PUFAS 9.6.1 Saturated fatty acids Probably the main misconception about meat fat is that it is assumed to be totally saturated. Meat contains a mixture of fatty acids both saturated and unsaturated and the amount of saturated fat in meat has been reduced in recent years. At the present time, less than half the fat in pork and beef and 51% of the fat in lamb is saturated. The saturated fat contributed to the diet from red meat and meat products has gradually fallen from 24%o in 1979 to 19.6% in 1999. Carcase meats now provide 6.7% of total saturated fat intake(Ministry Of Agriculture Fisheries And Food, 1981). In reality, even this figure is an overestimate, since there is a disproportionate wastage in terms of trimming, cooking losses and plate waste (Leeds et al, 1997) The predominant saturated fatty acids in meat are stearic acid(C18: 0) and palmitic acid (C16: 0). In general terms, saturated fats are known as the" fats as they tend to raise blood cholesterol and cause atherosclerosis. However, not all saturated fats are equal in their effects on blood cholesterol. For instance, stearic acid does not appear to raise blood cholesterol (Bonanome and Grund 1988)or other thrombotic risk factors(Kelly et al, 1999, 2001). Stearic acid prominent saturated fat in meat, for example; it accounts for approximately one third of the saturated fat in beef. Similarly, palmitic acid, another major saturated fat in meat does not consistently raise blood lipids. On the other hand, myristic acid(C14: 0)is the most atherogenic fatty acid, having four times the cholesterol raising potential of palmitic acid(Ulbricht, 1995). Myristic acid is found only in minor quantities in meat 9.6.2 Monounsaturated fatty acids Meat contains a mixture of unsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFAs ). MUFAs are the dominant unsaturated fatty acid in meat and they account for approximately 40%o of the total fat in meat It is a neglected fact that meat and meat products are the main contributors to 1UFAS in the British diet, supplying 27% of total MUFA intake(Ministry Of Agriculture Fisheries And Food, 1999). MUFAs are considered to be neutral with respect to blood cholesterol levels. The principal MUFA in meat is oleic acid (cis C18: 1n-9), which is also found in olive oil and is associated with the health Mediterranean diethealth. Fatty acids play a role in many conditions such as CHD, cancer, obesity, diabetes and arthritis. These roles can be protective, causative or relatively neutral, depending on the disease, the fatty acid, and the opposing effects of other dietary components. Current dietary advice emphasises balancing the intake of the different fatty acids. The Department of Health (COMA, 1994) has recom￾mended a reduction in the intake of saturated fat and an increase in the intake of unsaturated fat. Within the unsaturated fatty acids it is recommended to increase the omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs relative to the omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs. 9.6.1 Saturated fatty acids Probably the main misconception about meat fat is that it is assumed to be totally saturated. Meat contains a mixture of fatty acids both saturated and unsaturated and the amount of saturated fat in meat has been reduced in recent years. At the present time, less than half the fat in pork and beef and 51% of the fat in lamb is saturated. The saturated fat contributed to the diet from red meat and meat products has gradually fallen from 24% in 1979 to 19.6% in 1999. Carcase meats now provide 6.7% of total saturated fat intake (Ministry Of Agriculture Fisheries And Food, 1981). In reality, even this figure is an overestimate, since there is a disproportionate wastage in terms of trimming, cooking losses and plate waste (Leeds et al, 1997). The predominant saturated fatty acids in meat are stearic acid (C18:0) and palmitic acid (C16:0). In general terms, saturated fats are known as the ‘bad’ fats as they tend to raise blood cholesterol and cause atherosclerosis. However, not all saturated fats are equal in their effects on blood cholesterol. For instance, stearic acid does not appear to raise blood cholesterol (Bonanome and Grundy, 1988) or other thrombotic risk factors (Kelly et al, 1999, 2001). Stearic acid is a prominent saturated fat in meat, for example; it accounts for approximately one third of the saturated fat in beef. Similarly, palmitic acid, another major saturated fat in meat does not consistently raise blood lipids. On the other hand, myristic acid (C14:0) is the most atherogenic fatty acid, having four times the cholesterol raising potential of palmitic acid (Ulbricht, 1995). Myristic acid is found only in minor quantities in meat. 9.6.2 Monounsaturated fatty acids Meat contains a mixture of unsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). MUFAs are the dominant unsaturated fatty acid in meat and they account for approximately 40% of the total fat in meat. It is a neglected fact that meat and meat products are the main contributors to MUFAs in the British diet, supplying 27% of total MUFA intake (Ministry Of Agriculture Fisheries And Food, 1999). MUFAs are considered to be neutral with respect to blood cholesterol levels. The principal MUFA in meat is oleic acid (cis C18:1n-9), which is also found in olive oil and is associated with the healthy Mediterranean diet. 218 The nutrition handbook for food processors