Executive Summary: Deer Offal Characterisation

Summary of Project and Key Findings:
The purpose of this project was to characterise the nutritional profile of venison offal and co-products, describe their attribution in the human diet and highlight potential value addition strategies for venison offal and co-products for a range of food-grade product types. The nutritional profiling included characterisation of the 88 Core Components required for producing ‘Food Records’ in the New Zealand Food Composition Database, as well as additional nutrients (vitamin K, biotin, pantothenic acid, choline, chloride and fatty acids) for venison heart, kidney, liver, lung, spleen, tongue, sinew, tendon, blood, tail and gelatine. Nutritional characterisation has demonstrated that these offals and co-products are rich in many macro- and micro-nutrients, making them excellent sources for further value addition through the creation of new edible products.