{"id":26685,"date":"2017-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/omega-lamb-on-nz-plates\/"},"modified":"2017-05-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-30T12:00:00","slug":"omega-lamb-on-nz-plates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/omega-lamb-on-nz-plates\/","title":{"rendered":"Omega lamb on NZ plates"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Te Mana Lamb is bred in the New Zealand high country and finished on chicory herb pastures, is finely-marbled and rich in naturally-elevated polyunsaturated and Omega-3 fats.<\/p>\n

Te Mana Lamb is part of the Omega Lamb Project, a Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme between leading food company Alliance Group, a group of progressive farmers known as Headwaters and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).<\/p>\n

The project is aiming to increase the total value of lamb and the share of value captured in New Zealand by developing healthy, high quality branded products.<\/p>\n

General manager of the Omega Lamb Project Mike Tate said the project builds on a decade-long scientific programme and breakthrough research involving Headwaters that\u2019s found that the right combination of genetics, management and feeding can alter the fat profile of lamb and produce animals that are healthy, while delivering a healthier product for consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand lamb is internationally renowned for its quality by consumers and the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, Te Mana Lamb is something different. The specific breeding programme and pasture requirements don\u2019t lend themselves initially to mass production. At this stage, it is very much aimed at the fine dining experience. We see it as heralding a rebirth of different lamb dishes and reaffirmation of New Zealand as the home of the world\u2019s best lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chefs have been positive about the product and feedback from multiple taste panels showed the extra good fats enhance succulence and eating quality, Tate said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

General Manager Marketing for Alliance Group Peter Russell said the Omega Lamb Project was originally conceived to produce fewer \u201clean\u201d sheep, able to thrive better in high altitudes, pastures and conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe happy discovery was these lambs were not just healthier, but also better-eating due to a new type of intramuscular fat, the healthy polyunsaturated Omega-3 fat, which in turn means the resulting lamb doesn\u2019t taste or cook like any other lamb before it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTe Mana doesn\u2019t behave like regular lamb when cooking. Because the lamb meat is full of \u2018good fat\u2019, it has essentially less moisture. That means it doesn\u2019t suffer shrinkage when cooking, retains its shape, flavour and texture and is more versatile."<\/p>\n

About 30,000 Te Mana lambs have reached the programme\u2019s criteria for Omega-3 intramuscular and polyunsaturated fats this year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meat produced through the Omega Lamb Project is now available in New Zealand restaurants.\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":26686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t