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Seal meat is the flesh, including the
The study showed significant differences in nutritional composition from one seal to another. This may have been due to the highly varied age and size of the seals tested. In general, both the meat and blubber can be considered to be high quality food in terms of bioactive components and nutrients. On average, a woman's recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 and iron can be met with only 40 grams of seal meat.
A significant difference between species was found in the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content of both the meat and blubber. Harp seal blubber contained 9.2% while the muscle tissue contained only 3%.
High levels of trace elements were found. In particular, hooded seal muscle meat contained 379 μg/g of iron and harp seal muscle meat contained 30 μg/g of zinc.
High levels of mercury have been found in the blubber of seals of the
Seal meat is the flesh, including the blubber
Blubber is a thick layer of Blood vessel, vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. It was present in many marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosauria, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.
Description ...
and organs, of seals used as food for humans or other animals. It is prepared in numerous ways, often being hung and dried before consumption. Historically, it has been eaten in many parts of the world.
Practice of seal consumption by humans continues today in Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.
Nutritional value
Seal blubber and meat was studied to help understand the nutritional composition. Two species were evaluated by the Department of Biology of theUniversity of Bergen
The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...
and the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research. The species were the hooded seal
The hooded seal or bladdernose seal (''Cystophora cristata'') is a large phocid found only in the central and western North Atlantic, ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west. The seals are typically silver-grey ...
(''Cystophora cristata'') and harp seal (''Phagophilus groenlandicus''). The specimens used in the study were taken from Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
's West Ice.
Seal meat in general is lean, containing less than 2% fat. This fat is mostly MUFAs, long- and very long chain omega-3
Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...
PUFAs. Also, the meat is high in protein and has an amino acid composition that is well balanced.
The study showed significant differences in nutritional composition from one seal to another. This may have been due to the highly varied age and size of the seals tested. In general, both the meat and blubber can be considered to be high quality food in terms of bioactive components and nutrients. On average, a woman's recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 and iron can be met with only 40 grams of seal meat.
A significant difference between species was found in the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content of both the meat and blubber. Harp seal blubber contained 9.2% while the muscle tissue contained only 3%.
High levels of trace elements were found. In particular, hooded seal muscle meat contained 379 μg/g of iron and harp seal muscle meat contained 30 μg/g of zinc.
High levels of mercury have been found in the blubber of seals of the Canadian arctic
Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...
.
See also
*Country food
Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods ...
*Inuit cuisine
Historically, Inuit cuisine, which is taken here to include Greenlandic, Yupʼik and Aleut cuisine, consisted of a diet of animal source foods that were fished, hunted, and gathered locally.
In the 20th century the Inuit diet began to change a ...
* Chukchi cuisine
* Flipper pie
*Marine mammals as food
Marine mammals are a food source in many countries around the world. Historically, they were hunted by coastal people, and in the case of aboriginal whaling, still are. This sort of subsistence hunting was on a small scale and produced only local ...
*Wildlife trade
Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...
*
References
Faroese cuisine Greenlandic cuisine Icelandic cuisine Japanese cuisine Norwegian cuisine Inuit cuisine Russian cuisine Saint Vincent and the Grenadines cuisine Environmental controversies * Meat by animal {{meat-stub