Can dietary fiber improve the technological characteristics and sensory acceptance of low-fat Italian type salami?

To meet the needs of new consumers, meat researchers need to develop healthier products. Dietary fibers can be added for structural purposes, to present functional characteristics or to change the composition of the final product. In this study, mixture design was used to investigate the effects of partial substitution of pork fat by inulin, fructooligosaccharides and α-cyclodextrin on the technological and sensory quality characteristics of low-fat Italian type salami. The partial substitution of fat using dietary fibers shows no effect on weight loss, Aw and pH during ripening time. However, the addition of up to 2% α-cyclodextrin increased lightness and reduced redness and yellowness. Up to 2% of inulin or fructooligosaccharides added improved the sensory acceptance, texture parameters and redness. Healthier low-fat Italian type salami can be produced using inulin or fructooligosaccharides as fat substitute for pork fat and still obtain good technological and sensorial results.

Alpha-cyclodextrin as a new functional ingredient in low-fat chicken frankfurter.

1. The current consumer preference for healthier meat products is associated with less additives in manufacturing (so-called 'clean-label') or the addition of non-meat ingredients with functional properties, recognised as improving specific technological properties in meat products.2. This study evaluated the effect of the addition of alpha-cyclodextrin and wheat fibre to low-fat chicken frankfurters containing 35% mechanically deboned chicken meat on the technological and sensorial properties during refrigerated storage.3. The results showed that the addition of dietary fibres (alpha-cyclodextrin and wheat fibre) in low-fat chicken frankfurters improved emulsion stability, hardness, chewiness and reduced cohesiveness.4. Alpha-cyclodextrin helped the retention of fat globules in the microstructure and affected colour in the sensorial evaluation.5. The use of alpha-cyclodextrin, in combination with wheat fibre, as a new ingredient to substitute fat in emulsified meat products containing mechanically deboned chicken, improved emulsion stability and texture.6. Alpha-cyclodextrin and wheat fibre were effective in contributing to fat reduction without affecting the sensory properties of the product.

Manufacture of Requeijão cremoso processed cheese with galactooligosaccharide.

The addition of galactooligosaccharide, (GOS, 0, 1.5, 3 or 4g/100g) on the quality parameters of requeijão cremoso was investigated. Chemical characteristics (pH, moisture, fat and protein), color (L*, a*, b*), water mobility by TD- nuclear magnetic resonance, rheology (flow curve and oscillatory tests), microstructure and sensory acceptance (consumer test) were evaluated. The addition of GOS provided a denser and compact structure and reduced number and size of fat globules. Increased GOS level (3 and 4g/100g) improved the softness and spreadability (decrease of G', G″ and apparent viscosity and an increase of tan δ and melting index) and impacted positively on the aroma and taste of the requeijão cremoso. Overall, the addition of GOS in requeijão cremoso was proved to be a potential and interesting technological option.

Physico-chemical changes during storage and sensory acceptance of low sodium probiotic Minas cheese added with arginine.

The partial substitution of sodium chloride by potassium chloride (0%, 25%, and 50%) and addition of arginine (1% w/w) in probiotic Minas cheese was investigated. Microbiological (Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus counts, and functionality of the prebiotics L. acidophilus), physicochemical (pH, proteolysis, organic acids, fatty acids, and volatile profiles), rheological (uniaxial compression) and sensory (hedonic test with 100 consumers) characterizations were carried out. The sodium reduction and addition of arginine did not constitute a hurdle to lactic and probiotic bacteria survival, with presented values of about 9 log CFU/g, ranging from 7.11 to 9.21 log CFU/g, respectively. In addition, lower pH values, higher proteolysis, and a decrease in toughness, elasticity and firmness were observed, as well as an increase in lactic, citric, and acetic acid contents. In contrast, no change was observed in the fatty acid profile. With respect to the sensory acceptance, the probiotic low-sodium Minas cheese presented scores above 6.00 (liked slightly) for the attributes flavor and overall acceptance. The addition of arginine can be a potential alternative for the development of probiotic dairy products with reduced sodium content.

Check all that apply and free listing to describe the sensory characteristics of low sodium dry fermented sausages: Comparison with trained panel.

The urgent need for sodium reduction in meat products to enable healthy food choices has led food industry to search for more dynamic and fast methodological approaches to assess the sensory characteristics of their products. In the present study, dry fermented sausages with reduction in NaCl, replaced by KCl, CaCl2, and a blend of KCl and CaCl2 were evaluated for their sensory properties using a check all that apply questionnaire (CATA) and a free listing task. The results were compared with those of a trained panel using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). The absence of concordance was observed between the CATA and free listing towards the two bidimensional sensory maps and configuration of the samples in comparison to QDA. However, free listing was able to generate a similar and resumed vocabulary when compared to QDA. Our findings suggest the potential of free listing as sensory descriptive methodology in the development of reformulated food products with respect to sodium reduction.

Cheese. What is its contribution to the sodium intake of Brazilians?

The heightened intake of sodium from processed foods is of great public health concern throughout the world. This study evaluated the sodium contents of cheeses available in Brazil and the contribution of cheese to the daily intake of this micronutrient. The labels of 156 commercial samples of various types of Brazilian cheese (Minas, Prato, mozarella, and requeijão cheese, as well as padrão cheese) were evaluated with respect to the reported sodium content. A high variability in the sodium contents of cheeses within each category was observed, although no significant difference was observed in the sodium content present in one serving (30 g) of cheese versus that present in 100 g of product (p > 0.05). With the exception of Minas cheese, more than 70% of the other cheeses examined in this study could be classified as high-sodium cheeses, with sodium contents exceeding 400 mg Na/100 g of product. These results suggest that cheese manufacturers need to reformulate their products and that public health authorities need to take additional measures to curb sodium intake from cheese consumption, including demand-specific labeling and implementing educational campaigns to inform the public about the dangers associated with high sodium intake.

Physico-chemical and sensory properties of reduced-fat mortadella prepared with blends of calcium, magnesium and potassium chloride as partial substitutes for sodium chloride.

Blends of calcium, magnesium and potassium chloride were used to partially replace sodium chloride (50-75%) in reduced-fat mortadella formulations. The presence of calcium chloride reduced the emulsion stability, cooking yield, elasticity and cohesiveness and increased hardness; however, it yielded the best sensory acceptance when 50% NaCl was replaced by 25% CaCl(2) and 25% KCl. There was no effect of the salt substitutes on mortadella color, appearance and aroma. All salt combinations studied showed stable lipid oxidation during its shelf life. The use of a blend with 1% NaCl, 0.5% KCl and 0.5% MgCl(2) resulted in the best emulsion stability, but the worst scores for flavor. This study suggests that it is possible to reduce the sodium chloride concentration by 50% in reduced-fat mortadella using the studied salt combinations with necessary adjustments to optimize the sensory properties (MgCl(2) 25%; KCl 25%) or emulsion stability (CaCl(2) 25%; KCl 25%).

Manufacture of low-sodium Minas fresh cheese: effect of the partial replacement of sodium chloride with potassium chloride.

We investigated the effect of sodium reduction by partial substitution of sodium chloride (NaCl) with potassium chloride (KCl) on the manufacture of Minas fresh cheese during 21 d of refrigerated storage. Four treatments of low-sodium Minas fresh cheese were manufactured, with partial replacement of NaCl by KCl at 0, 25, 50, and 75% (wt/wt), respectively. The cheeses showed differences in the content of moisture, ash, protein, salt, and lipid contents, as well as on the extent of proteolysis and hardness throughout the storage period. However, no difference was observed among treatments within each storage day tested. The partial substitution of NaCl by KCl decreased up to 51.8% the sodium concentration of the cheeses produced. The consumer test indicated that it is possible to manufacture a low-sodium Minas fresh cheese that is acceptable to consumers by partial substitution of NaCl by KCl at 25% (wt/wt) in the salting step.