Nutritional quality and functional lipids in the free-range egg yolks of Brazilian family farmers
Author
Melo,Jair
Ferreira,Fernanda
Silva,Tatiana Labre da
Nascimento,Kamila
Oliveira,Vanessa de
Barbosa Junior,Jose Lucena
Barbosa,Maria Ivone Martins Jacintho
Saldanha,Tatiana
Abstract
ABSTRACT Nowadays consumers are more concerned about food quality as well as how food is produced. Moreover, consumer demand for more natural, nutritious, safer to eat, and environmentally sustainable food has drawn attention to alternative breeding systems, such as a free-range system. Hens' eggs represent a rich source of important nutrients, including lipids and carotenoids. A detailed characterization of the nutritional and lipid profile of free-range chicken eggs from family farms was carried out. The chemical composition of the free-range egg yolks confirmed the advantages of this farming system, as a relevant source of unsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids, functional compounds in the human diet. These findings can help improve income generation, food supplementation, and consolidation of the family farming system.