Natural Compounds to Reduce Nitrite in Meat Products

Summary

The PHYTOME project (Phytochemicals to reduce nitrite in meat products) is a major European Union (EU) co-funded research project that aims to develop innovative meat products in which the food additive nitrite has been replaced by natural compounds originating from fruits and vegetables. These biologically active compounds, also referred to as phytochemicals, are known to contribute to improved gut health and are added to the meat as natural extracts.

In a number of meat products, carefully selected combinations of natural antioxidants and other biologically active compounds occurring in vegetables, fruits and natural extracts such as coffee and tea, will be added during meat processing. Some of these compounds possess an antimicrobial activity allowing them to replace nitrite, whereas others possess a natural red colour that may contribute to the desired appearance of the products. Also, some of these compounds are known to protect colonic cells against damaging effects of cancer causing agents that may be formed in the large intestine after meat consumption.

The PHYTOME project will develop new technologies to introduce the natural extracts during processing to different types of meat products. These techniques will guarantee good sensory quality of the product as well as microbiological safety. Once these techniques have been developed and optimized at laboratory scale, the new type of products will be produced on an industrial scale. The health promoting effects of these products will be evaluated in a human dietary intervention study with healthy volunteers. After consumption of a fully controlled diet with either relatively high amounts of the traditional meat products or products produced following the new concept, faeces and colonic material will be collected and investigated for markers of colorectal cancer risk. These investigations will be performed in close collaboration with Research Institutes in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy and Greece, and will make use of the newest genomics techniques that are available.

Conditions

• Colon Cancer

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Processed meat product

300 grams per day during 2 weeks

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

White meat wash-out

300 grams per day during 2 weeks

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Processed meat products enriched with natural compounds

300 grams per day during 2 weeks

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Drinking water containing nitrate up to acceptable daily intake level (ADI = 3.7 mg/kg bw) in combination with 300 grams of processed meat, white meat or processed meat enriched with natural compounds

3.7 mg nitrate/kg bw per day plus 300 grams of meat for 1 week

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Maastricht University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-04-17

Primary Completion

2015-06-30

Completion

2015-12-01

Countries

• Netherlands

Study Locations