Importance of knowledge on lipid composition of foods to support development towards consumption of higher levels of n-3 fatty acids via freshwater fish

The need of better labelling of fats in processed animal originproducts is urgent. The lack of information makes it possible toexclude n-3 fatty acids in preparations of foods. The higher fatcontent, the higher n-6/n-3 ratio seems to be a rule. It isdesirable to broaden the labelling into which oils have been usedwhen foods are processed. The dietary balance of n-6 and n-3fatty acids is important for homeostasis and normal developmentin humans. The ratio between n-6/n-3 fatty acids suggested tobe evolutionary developed is between 1 and 4. The mainconclusion is that the fat sources used during processing andpreparation of convenient foods have the largest impact on thefood FA content and composition. A proposal is therefore thatthis should be declared on the product label especially the n-3 FAcontent. It is also of large importance to increase consumption offreshwater fish fed suitable feeds containing n-3 fatty acids incentral Europe to enable a generally lower n-6/n-3 ratio in thehuman diet. Therefore optimizing feeds to freshwater fish inculture is urgent and important.