April 18, 2012
Industry-backed research body Pork CRC has allocated funds for short-term research projects – to be funded for a maximum of $50,000 for 12 months – to investigate the role of pork in a balanced diet.
The Co-operative Research Centre has set priorities for the research which include:
- Determine pork’s role as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle on weight management and weight maintenance to address health issues, including Type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease in Australia,
- Demonstrate the use and form of pork in the diet of elderly Australians to preserve muscle mass and cognition,
- Demonstrate the inherent benefits of consuming pork in diets of Australian children, with particular focus on innovatively incorporating pork into children’s meals,
- Use of animal and/or human models to determine if including fresh pork or enriched pork in the diet can deliver potential positive health outcomes to humans, including early stage bowel and prostate cance development and gut health (eg microbiota); and
- The effect of pork on protein digestion and amino acid metabolism.
The Pork CRC is based at the University of Adelaide in South Australia and operates under a Commonwealth Agreement with the Department of Innovation Industry Science and Research.
CHM Alliance, owners of Swickers Kingaroy Bacon Factory, are participants in the Pork CRC.
