This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Irta y Tecnoparc se unen para investigar en el ámbito de las carnes funcionales

IRTA and Tecnoparc join forces to investigate in the field of functional meat

18/10/2007

October 18, 2007

The director-general of the Institute for research and food technology (Irta), Josep Tarragó, and the Mayor of Reus and Tecnoparc President, Lluís Miquel Pérez, signed on October 15 a strategic agreement whereby both institutions are committed to promoting the establishment of research infrastructures and to carry out joint research programmes to obtain functional meat.

This collaboration has already a first fruit. Impulse joint unit of Animal experimentation (UEA) in the land that has the Irta in more than Bover. The new facilities will involve a total investment of 1.7 billion euros and will be financed in part and in the form of a loan by the Ministry of education and science.

The UEA will promote research and development of innovative lines of work in the production of functional meat. In particular, the experimental farm will continue to which it has shown so far as the most effective strategy to obtain functional meat compounds: the modification of the diet with the incorporation of different nutrients in foodstuffs such as Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acidsconjugated linoleic acid, essential oils, vitamins, carotenoids and selenium, among others.

The Irta already has a broad background of research in functional meat production in the vaccine species, specifically with Omega-3 fatty acids. These advances will be extended to other species such as the swine and avian with this Alliance, and work exclusively in the Centre of more than Bover.

The agreement is aimed at improving the competitiveness of companies in health and nutrition through the provision of scientific-technological services aimed at the development of new products. In this sense, the new experimental farm is also intended to cover the needs of any analytical tests and waste which the competent authorities require to the companies in the sector before putting on the market new veterinary formulations and additivesin order to comply with the strict European rules of food safety which will enter into force in 2010.

Apart from the farm, the other more immediate joint initiative of Tecnoparc and Irta will be the Organization of a national day of functional food in the province of Tarragona. The meeting will take place in December and organized by the Catalan Association of food science (Acca) and the Academy of Veterinary Sciences of Catalonia (ACVC).