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Winter 2005

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Foundations

Algae a la Mode
Eric Decker wants us to have our cake and eat our essential fatty acids too

–Deborah Klenotic




	Got milk? Not quite. That’s emulsified algae Eric Decker is holding, a breakthrough development that may help us get our omega-3s in everything from ice cream to ground turkey. (photo by Ben Barnhart)

MANY AMERICANS WHO DON'T EAT enough salmon or other sources of omega-3 fatty acids (fresh purslane, anyone?) are forking over $30 or more for a six-month supply of omega-3 supplements. Meanwhile, almost every week brings new research findings on the benefits of these good fats.

Omega-3s, which are not manufactured by the body, have been shown to keep triglycerides (bad fats) low, and stabilize the heartbeat. They improve autoimmune illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Raynaud’s disease. For their effects on symptoms of depression, they’ve been called the “Prozac of the deep.” And that’s just the short list.

Thanks to Eric Decker, professor of food science at UMass Amherst, we may soon get omega-3s with every spoonful of strawberry yogurt or ice cream, in the same way we swish down our calcium in orange juice.
A certain algae oil is high in omega-3s, and Decker has developed a patented emulsion system to stabilize it so it doesn’t go rancid and can be added to food without changing the flavor.

Decker, who earned his doctorate at UMass Amherst, is the foremost researcher in this area in the United States. His appointment as the first Fergus M. Clydesdale Professor in Food Science demonstrates the institutional commitment that keeps him committed to building an exceptional program on our campus.

“Fergus is one of the most renowned food scientists in the world,” says Decker, who is soft-spoken, with an easygoing manner. “It’s a double honor to have an endowed

position and to have it in his name.”
The professorship money was “crucial,” Decker notes. “It allowed me to buy instrumentation to take the emulsion system to the next level, hire four graduate students, and, just as important, present the results of our emulsion system at meetings of the Institute of Food Technologists and other organizations in the food science field.”

Those results are as cool as a bowl of ice cream: Decker and colleague Julian McClements have invented a process to add the stabilized algae omega-3 oil, which has a milky look, to ice cream, yogurt, ground turkey, and salad dressing without affecting their flavor.

In a collaborative project with Pennsylvania State University and the University of Connecticut, Decker and his UMass Amherst team added 500 mg of omega-3 fatty acids from algae oil—the same amount of omega-3s found in a can of tuna fish—to single servings of strawberry yogurt and invited about 240 people to a sensory study. On average, the taste-testers detected no difference in flavor. The fortified yogurt and other foods will go on to Harvard University for tests of their medical benefits.

“People get mixed messages about eating fish, hearing that it may contain toxins, yet that they should eat fish for health benefits,” says Decker, who won $2.7 million in USDA grants for his emulsion technology research and collaborative project. “Algae may be a safe source of omega-3s.

“We want to use diet to increase people’s levels of omega-3s. Adding less than a half percent of oil containing omega-3 fatty acids to food can decrease total triglyceride level,” says Decker. “And high levels of omega-3s can help your heart keep its rhythm, so that if you have a heart attack, your chances of surviving are better.”

To get the most benefit, people need to eat 1 gram of omega-3s per day, he says, and most of us get only about 20 percent of that. Functional foods—those enhanced to deliver health benefits beyond the nutrients they normally provide—can help.

The Fergus M. Clydesdale Professorship in Food Science is the brainchild of an anonymous colleague of Clydesdale’s in the food industry who wished to honor this leading food scientist by starting a professorship endowment fund in the Department of Food Science. The delighted Food Science Advisory Board supersized the welcome gift, raising funds from enthusiastic department alumni and companies to build an
endowment for the professorship.

Professor Clydesdale, who was recently named a Lifetime National Associate of the National Academies for his years of extraordinary service to the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, is known to be modest.

“I was so embarrassed when I learned of the professorship,” says Clydesdale, who has been appointed a Distinguished Professor of UMass Amherst, “but I was deeply honored. And in allowing us to keep Professor Decker, it shows the value of finding ways to retain the best people when they get offers from other institutions. Professor Decker is one of the top scientists in his field in the world.”

Decker is also popular with students, notes Clydesdale. “Being in this department, which is small, you get to know everyone personally. Students consider Professor Decker a terrific mentor. He’s very sympathetic to them and hosts a picnic every year for the department.”

Salmon is on the menu. At least until enhanced ice cream hits the marketplace.

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Algae a la Mode

Algae a la Mode: larger image

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