An assessment of the fatty acid composition of horse-meat available at the retail level in northern Spain

9 páginas, 5 tablas, 4 figuras.The objective of the present study was to assess the fatty acid composition of horse-meat available at the retail market in northern Spain. Horse steaks (Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle; n = 82) were purchased from butcher-shops and large grocery stores throughout six northern regions of Spain in two different seasons. Fat content differed significantly among regions (1.12 to 2.77%). Samples with higher intramuscular fat content presented the highest percentages of total monounsaturated fatty acids and the lowest contents of dimethylacetal and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), while the opposite was found in the leanest samples. A high variability was observed in the muscle and subcutaneous n-3 PUFA content. Overall, total n-3 PUFA content ranged between 1.17% and 18.9% in muscle fat and between 1.52% and 27.9% in backfat. Interestingly, almost 5% of surveyed loins from horse carcasses (4 out of 82) contained over 300 mg of linolenic acid per 100 g of meat which could have been marketed as a “source” of n-3 FAs according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 116/2010. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.X. Belaunzaran thanks the Department of Economic Development & Competitiveness of the Basque Government for his doctoral fellowship, and N. Aldai thanks the Spanish Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) for her contract through the 'Ramon y Cajal (RYC-2011-08593)' program. The study was funded by the UPV/EHU (EHUA 13/29; ZALDITRANS Project) and the Department of Education, Language Policy and Culture of the Basque Government (IT766-13).Peer Reviewe