August 25/Washington/Hindustan Times --  Children need a lot of fish for brain and nerve development, says a University of Illinois food science professor.

"First, babies need a lot of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish for brain, nerve and eye development, and when they switch from breast milk or formula to solid food, most of them don't get nearly enough," said Susan Brewer, also a registered dietitian.

"Second, children's food preferences are largely developed by the time they're five, so I urge parents to help their kids develop a taste for seafood early," she said.

Fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, have huge health benefits and help to prevent coronary artery disease, but most adults do not eat fish twice weekly as experts recommend. In predisposing children toward liking fish, parents are doing their kids a big favor, she said. Brewer knows her recommendations might meet with some resistance.

"When we started working on salmon baby food, I thought, 'Ewwwh!' But the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics is solidly behind the idea, and fish-based baby foods, common in Asian markets, have been marketed successfully in the U.K. and Italy."

Brewer collaborated with former U of I professor Peter Bechtel, now of Alaska's Agricultural Research Service, in the effort to create a viable product, using wild-caught salmon from Alaskan waters.

"When salmon swim upstream to spawn, their flesh begins to get very soft. At that point, the meat is not firm enough for fillets, but it's perfect for baby food," she noted.

She has experimented with both pink and red salmon, finding that red salmon survives the baby food production process better.

To boost nutrition, in separate experiments she has added bone meal and pureed salmon roe (eggs) to her entrees. The first ingredient (made by grinding the bones in the salmon into a powder) provides calcium in a form that is readily available for bone building in children.

The second provides high-quality protein and contains significant quantities of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docohexaenoic acid (DHA).

"A newborn infant's brain is 50% DHA. However, babies and toddlers have immature livers and can't synthesize enough DHA to ensure an adequate supply to their developing nerve tissues. If small children are going to get DHA, they must ingest it in their food," she noted.

The study has been published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Food Science.

From the August 26, 2010, Prepared Foods' Daily News
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