Cereals as Functional Ingredients in Meat and Meat Products

With the increasing awareness among consumer regarding food they eat, researchers shifted their focus from conventional foods to functional foods. Reasons being the studies showing various health risks associated with various food items like meat and poultry. Meat products have suffered the most due to their negative impact on health. Despite being one of the most nutritious food items in terms of proteins with high biological value, mineral content, vitamins, etc., it is not appreciated quite often as there are evidences relating meat consumption especially red meat to colorectal cancers, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, etc. With all these apprehensions in mind, researchers are looking for other sources which could be incorporated in meat products to reduce these health issues. Cereals happen to play a promising role in addressing all these concerns as they are rich in various phytochemicals, dietary fiber, etc. which have positive impact on health and physiological characteristics of meat. Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) such as β glucan, arabinoxylans, arabinogalactans, and phenolics of cereals have acquired much importance because of their potential to act as prebiotics, antioxidants, immunomodulators, anticancer agents, cardio-protectors and anti-diabetic. Cereal germ is an important ingredient for the development of functional meat products because of its rich nutrient content and antioxidant property. They also contain minerals like Mg, K, Ca, and P, and they can also help in maintaining blood pressure. The aim of this chapter is to highlight the various components of cereals (oats, barley, wheat, rye, etc.) which can be used in meat products to improve their quality.