Effect of processing (cutter versus continuous emulsifier) and sodium reduction on the physicochemical properties of bologna sausages.

BACKGROUND: Overcoming the impact of sodium reduction in the properties of emulsified sausages is a current challenge in the production of healthier meat products. Because the emulsifying process play a key role in the stability of sausages, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of two mechanical emulsifying systems (cutter versus continuous emulsifier) and two levels of sodium chloride (2.50 and 1.25%) on the physicochemical characteristics of bologna sausages. RESULTS: A reduction of sodium increased the L* value and reduced the a* value, and also decreased the protein extraction yield in sausages produced in the cutter system. Moreover, the emulsion stability of reduced sodium batter was increased by cutter emulsification (F50C). On the other hand, the continuous emulsifier process did not decrease the extraction of myofibrillar proteins in F50E (sodium reduced treatment), resulting in minimal impact on emulsion stability and an increase in hardness in reduced-sodium sausages. CONCLUSION: Therefore, to produce low-sodium sausages, the continuous emulsifier was more effective producing batters with increased extracted myofibrillar proteins, improving the structure and functionality of myofibrillar proteins compared to the cutter process. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Protein-based hydrogelled emulsions and their application as fat replacers in meat products: A review.

Recent consumers' concerns about diet and its health benefits has triggered a reduction in consumption of foods rich in sugar, fat, salt, and chemical additives. As a result, an expanded market for functional foods has arisen. In particular, high-fat foods normally composed by saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and trans-fatty acids have been reformulated to be healthier. The primary source of saturated fat ingested by humans includes meats and their by-products that have animal fat as lipid source. The reformulation of these products therefore represents an important strategy to make them healthier for human consumption. Substituting solid fat by unsaturated oils usually affects the texture of the products, and therefore, new structuring methods must be developed to provide vegetable oils a similar characteristic to solid fats and improve their functional and health-related properties. Among these structural models, gelled emulsions (GE) show great potential to be used as healthier lipid ingredients in low-calorie and reduced-fat products, including healthier meat products. This review addresses the GE properties to be used as structuring agent, their in vitro bioaccessibility in meat products and effect on technological, sensorial, microstructural and microbiological characteristics.

ω-3 in meat products: benefits and effects on lipid oxidative stability.

Although ω-3 intake has been associated with numerous health benefits, its addition to certain food matrices, and in particular meat products, may involve various technological barriers influencing the final quality of the products. Lipid oxidation must be highlighted due to the modification of both the sensory characteristics and the shelf-life of meat products. In order to reduce the impact of chemical changes and promote oxidative stability, the use of natural antioxidants has gained ground owing to the health and safety advantages linked to its effectiveness at reducing lipid oxidation. Many natural compounds have also been successfully tested in animal feed, in order to protect the raw meat materials and reduce the risk of lipid oxidation in processed products. This review aims to address the challenges and advantages of the incorporation of ω-3 fatty acids in raw meat materials and processed meat products, and to describe the use of different compounds to enhance lipid oxidative stability. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of Transglutaminase Treatment on the Structure and Sensory Properties of Rice- or Soy-Based Hybrid Sausages.

Partial substitution of meat with non-protein sources in hybrid meat products generally leads to a decrease in texture attributes and, consequently, in sensory acceptance. In this study, we investigated the effects of transglutaminase (TG) at two concentrations (0.25% and 0.5%) on the physicochemical, textural, and sensory properties of hybrid sausages formulated with concentrated soy or rice proteins. TG caused a reduction in the heat treatment yield of hybrid sausages, particularly those made with rice protein. pH and color parameters were marginally affected by TG addition. Texture parameters increased substantially with TG, although escalating the TG level from 0.25% to 0.5% did not result in a proportional improvement in texture parameters; in fact, for rice-based hybrid sausages, no difference was achieved for all attributes, while only cohesiveness and chewiness were improved for soy-based ones. TG enhanced the sensory attributes of soy-based hybrid sausages to a level comparable to control meat emulsion, as evidenced by ordinate preference score and projective mapping. Our findings suggest that TG is a viable strategy for enhancing texture and sensory parameters in hybrid sausages, particularly for plant proteins that exhibit greater compatibility with the meat matrix.

Improving the textural and nutritional properties in restructured meat loaf by adding fibers and papain designed for elderly.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary fibers (apple, oat, pea, and inulin) in meat loaves treated with papain enzyme. In the first step, dietary fibers were added to the products at the level of 6%. All dietary fibers decreased the cooking loss and improved the water retention capacity throughout the shelf life of the meat loaves. Besides, the dietary fibers increased the compression force of meat loaves treated with papain, mainly oat fiber. The dietary fibers decreased the pH, especially the treatment with apple fiber. In the same way, the color was changed mainly by the apple fiber addition, resulting in a darker color in both raw and cooked samples. TBARS index increased in meat loaves added with both pea and apple fibers, mostly for the last one. In the next step, the combination of inulin, oat, and pea fibers was evaluated in the meat loaves treated with papain, combining fibers up to 6% total content likewise decreased cooking and cooling loss and increased the texture of the papain-treated meat loaf. The addition of fibers improved the acceptability of the texture-related samples, except for the three-fiber mixture (inulin, oat, and pea), which was related to a dry, hard-to-swallow texture. The mix of pea and oat fibers conferred the best descriptive attributes, possibly related to improved texture and water retention in the meat loaf, and comparing the use of isolated oat and pea, the perception of negative sensory attributes was not mentioned, such as soy and other off-flavors. Considering these results, this study showed that dietary fibers combined with papain improved the yielding and functional properties with potential technological use and consistent nutritional claims for elderly.

Evaluating different levels of papain as texture modifying agent in bovine meat loaf containing transglutaminase.

In this study, bovine meat loaves were produced with different levels of papain (0.00125%, 0.0025%, 0.00375%, and 0.005%) combined with transglutaminase (1%). The effect of this reformulation on pH, instrumental color, water activity, proximate composition, texture, yield, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of meat loaves was investigated. In addition, the enzymatic activity of papain was also analyzed. The papain addition increased the pH and the yield of the samples. The hardness was progressively reduced with the increase of papain level. Such changes could be seen through the images recorded by SEM, where an extremely fragmented structure was observed in treatments with higher papain concentration. Papain showed an optimum temperature of 80 °C. This study allowed to observe an intense proteolytic effect in all treatments, despite the papain concentration. Therefore, lower levels should be applied so that the product does not alter its sensory characteristics, such as soft and crumbly texture.

Inulin gelled emulsion as a fat replacer and fiber carrier in healthier Bologna sausage.

The effects of gelled emulsions (GE) used as animal fat replacers in terms of the nutritional, technological, and sensory properties of Bologna sausages during 60 days of chilled storage have been studied. Samples with GE added exhibited a fat reduction of 31%. Sausages with GE had higher values of L* and lower values of a* compared to the control. Harder sausages were obtained by the addition of GE. Higher lipid oxidation rates were found with increasing amounts of GE in the reformulated products. In addition, the relaxation time was not affected by the reformulation. All samples were deemed acceptable by consumer tests. However, CATA (Check-all-that-apply) tests showed that Bolognas formulated with partial or total pork fat replaced with GE were described as rubbery, not very spicy and firm, appeared to be dry and opaque, and had an aftertaste. Chilled storage significantly affected the Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) values and slightly affected the pH values, texture, color, and NMR data. An important result is that the panelists did not detect the oxidation results in relation to the TBARS values, and the addition of a GE with inulin as dietary fiber may be a good strategy to make Bologna sausage healthier.

Understanding the Performance of Plant Protein Concentrates as Partial Meat Substitutes in Hybrid Meat Emulsions.

Hybrid meat products are an excellent strategy to incorporate plant proteins into traditional meat formulations considering recent market trends focusing on the partial reduction in red meat content. In this work, we evaluated the effects of different concentrated plant proteins (soy, pea, fava bean, rice, and sunflower) in partially replacing meat in meat emulsion model systems. Soy, pea, and sunflower proteins showed great compatibility with the meat matrix, giving excellent emulsion stability and a cohesive protein network with good fat distribution. Otherwise, adding rice and fava bean proteins resulted in poor emulsion stability. Color parameters were affected by the intrinsic color of plant proteins and due to the reduction in myoglobin content. Both viscoelastic moduli, G' and G″ decreased with the incorporation of plant proteins, especially for rice and fava bean. The temperature sweep showed that myosin denaturation was the dominant effect on the G' increase. The water mobility was affected by plant proteins and the proportion between immobilized and intermyofibrillar water was quite different among treatments, especially those with fava bean and rice proteins. In vitro protein digestibility was lower for hybrid meat emulsion elaborated with rice protein. It is concluded that soy, pea, and mainly sunflower proteins have suitable compatibility with the meat matrix in emulsified products.

Interaction between papain and transglutaminase enzymes on the textural softening of burgers.

The present study investigated the effect of the enzymes papain (0.2%) and microbial transglutaminase (MTG) (1%) on the texture properties of beef and chicken burgers to develop a meat product with significant increase in softness due to the physiological limitations of the elderly. The products were characterized for pH, objective color, water activity, texture profile analysis (TPA), shear force, compression test, electrophoretic profile, cooking loss, and diameter reduction. A pronounced increase in softness was observed for both raw materials containing papain. An increase in shear force was observed for the beef burger containing only MTG, while the chicken burger showed a reduction of this parameter. The compression tests showed papain alone or combined with MTG decreased the hardness of the burgers. The results showed that the combination of the enzymes papain and MTG can be an effective strategy to develop beef and chicken burgers much softer, contributing to the future studies focused on the physiological needs of the elderly.

Beetroot and radish powders as natural nitrite source for fermented dry sausages.

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of radish and beetroot powders as potential substitutes of nitrite in fermented dry sausages due to their high nitrate content (around 16,000 and 14,000 mg/kg, respectively). Six treatments were prepared and evaluated during the ripening process and storage time: C1 (control with 150 mg/kg sodium nitrite and 150 mg/kg sodium nitrate), C2 (control without sodium nitrite/nitrate), R05 (0.5% radish powder), R1 (1% radish powder), B05 (0.5% beetroot powder) and B1 (1% beetroot powder). The addition of vegetable powders influenced moisture content, weight loss and water activity of sausages. Nitrite was formed from radish and beetroot powders during the ripening process, especially in R1 and B1 treatments. Beetroot powder affected colour, pigments and lactic acid bacteria counts. The results of pH, colour, lipid oxidation, nitrite and nitrate analysis suggest R1 treatment as a potential nitrite replacer obtained from a simple and feasible drying process.

Radish powder and oregano essential oil as nitrite substitutes in fermented cooked sausages.

Radish powder (0.5 and 1.0%) and oregano essential oil (OEO) (100 mg/kg) were applied in fermented cooked sausages without the addition of nitrite. The products were evaluated along processing and storage at 4 °C and 20 °C during 30 and 60 days. Carvacrol (77.19%), p-cymene (8.78%), γ-terpinene (4.78%) and thymol (3.53%) were the main compounds identified in OEO, which are responsible for its antioxidant capacity. The use of radish powder resulted in an adequate development of colour (12.5-13.5 for a*), nitrite formation (1.9-2.4 mg/kg), pH (5.0-5.2), aw (0.91-0.92), weight loss (35.8-37.7%) and texture (70-75 N) properties for this type of fermented meat products, and it was also efficient in the decrease of mesophilic bacteria counts (2.3-2.4 log CFU/g in samples with 0.5% radish powder). Sensory analysis showed the consumer's preference regarding aroma for treatments added of OEO and no differences were found in overall acceptance among all treatments, indicating that despite the absence of synthetic nitrite in formulations, the combination of radish powder and OEO was approved by the consumers. However, lipid oxidation was not controlled during storage, since higher TBARS values were found in nitrite-free treated sausages, especially in those stored at 20 °C (2.80 mg MDA/kg in samples with 1% radish powder). Therefore, the use of radish powder and OEO showed promising results to development of fermented cooked sausages from a natural source of nitrite, mainly regarding their physicochemical stability and sensory acceptance.

Reducing phosphate in emulsified meat products by adding chia (Salvia hispanica L.) mucilage in powder or gel format: A clean label technological strategy.

This study evaluated the functional properties of chia mucilage powder (MCP) and gel (MCG) as a phosphate replacers in low-fat Bologna sausages. Four treatments were produced without phosphates (F1-2% MCP; F2-2% MCG; F3-4% MCP; F4-4% MCG) and two with 0.25% phosphate (F5-2% MCG and F6-4% MCG) besides control (20%-fat-0.5% phosphate). Samples containing mucilage were less firm and less chewy on day 0, except F3. Treatments containing 2% MCG were judged acceptable and provided better emulsion stability than those with MCP. Adding 4% MCP or MCG resulted in Bolognas with lower relaxation times and more restricted mobility and lowest sensorial acceptance characterized by the terms light brown and dark pink color (F4). The microscopy images exhibited less cohesive structure in treatments with 4% of MCG, suggesting the formation of a weaker bound protein network. Chia mucilage gel at 2%, due to its functional properties, has proven to be a feasible strategy to substitute 50% phosphate in low-fat Bologna sausages.

Ultrasound and low-levels of NaCl replacers: A successful combination to produce low-phosphate and low-sodium meat emulsions.

Meat emulsions were made with 50% of phosphate level commonly used in the meat industry, and 0, 25, and 50% NaCl reduction. In addition, salt replacers (KCl, CaCl2, or MgCl2) were used in the formulations with 25 and 50% salt reduction, corresponding to 10 and 20% of the total amount of salts added, respectively. After embedding in casings, the samples were sonicated (25 kHz and 230 W) in an ultrasonic bath (US) at 20 °C for 0, 18, and 27 min. The addition of CaCl2 or MgCl2 impaired (P < .05) the technological properties of the low-sodium samples. Defects caused by NaCl reduction were not eliminated by 18-min US. However, the combination of KCl and 27-min US eliminated the technological defects caused by the 50% NaCl reduction, with no major impact on lipid oxidation during storage (21 days/4 °C), as observed in the TBARS and sensory profile results. Therefore, it is possible to produce low-phosphate and low-sodium meat emulsions.

Using dynamic sensory techniques to determine drivers of liking in sodium and fat-reduced Bologna sausage containing functional emulsion gels.

Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) and Temporal Check-all-that-apply (TCATA) are fast and dynamic descriptive techniques for sensory characterization of food. The temporal perception involved during the consumption of reformulated meat products are rarely considered and, in this context, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of salt and fat reduction on Bologna sausage with addition of emulsion gel in the dynamic sensorial perception by using TDS and TCATA methods considering overall liking. After the dynamic sensory characterization tasks, consumers rated their liking using a 9-point hedonic scale. The findings showed that fat and salt reduction, and the addition of emulsion gels as fat replacers affected the sensory characteristics of the Bologna sausages. Regarding the methods, both studies collected the variations between samples with a great correlation between data. The TDS and TCATA curves revealed that texture attributes (firm and soft) were dominant at the beginning of the evaluation for all samples. TCATA also showed that juicy was dominant in the first 15 s of eating period. Related to overall liking, control sample (2% salt and 20% pork back fat) presented the highest scores (7.25 for TDS and 7.24 for TCATA) and Bolognas sausages with emulsion gels and reduced in salt were less accepted (4.95 for TDS and 5.86 for TCATA). Bologna flavor was the major attribute related to liking and fat flavor the main driver of disliking. Results from the present work suggest that dynamic sensorial methods are effective tools to characterize reformulated meat products.

Impact of ultrasound and potassium chloride on the physicochemical and sensory properties in low sodium restructured cooked ham.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of power ultrasound (nominal intensity 600 W·cm-2 for 10 min) and the addition of potassium chloride (KCl) on the physicochemical properties and sensorial acceptance of low sodium restructured cooked ham. Four treatments of low sodium restructured cooked ham (mean of 324.52 mg Na/100 g) were prepared: CT - Control Treatment; UsT - Ultrasound Treatment; KT - addition of 0.5% KCl; UsKT - Ultrasound Treatment and addition of 0.5% KCl. Ultrasound application reduced the total fluid released and improved the sensory acceptance for salty taste and flavor compared to CT. The addition of KCl showed the lowest values for total fluid release, the highest scores for all parameters of sensory acceptance, improved hardness and chewiness, which results were not statistically different from the results obtained by combining ultrasound and KCl. Therefore, the use of KCl was considered a technological and sensorial viable alternative to produce low sodium restructured cooked ham. CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS USED IN THIS RESEARCH: Methanol (PubChem CID: 887); Chloroform (PubChem CID: 6212); Sodium Carbonate (PubChem CID: 10340); Sodium hydroxide (PubChem CID: 14798); Boric acid (PubChem CID: 7628).

Using chitosan and radish powder to improve stability of fermented cooked sausages.

Radish powder and chitosan were evaluated in fermented cooked sausages to replace sodium nitrite. Treatments of fermented cooked sausages were prepared and evaluated during the ripening process and storage time: control (150 ppm nitrite, CONT); and two levels of chitosan (0.25%, CHI1) and (0.5%, CHI2) with radish powder (0.5%) and without the addition of nitrite. During storage, pieces sliced or not were also evaluated regarding the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory. Pure chitosan was evaluated regarding determination of MIC and MBC to Enterobacter aerogenes, Listeria innocua and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and antioxidant capacity. The addition of chitosan increased aw and decreased weight loss of fermented sausages along processing, but pH was not affected during ripening. Except for aroma, sensory attributes were affected by the addition of chitosan. The addition of 0.5% radish powder and 0.25% chitosan showed promising results to development of nitrite-free fermented cooked sausages, mainly regarding their physicochemical and microbiological stability.

Ultrasound: A new approach to reduce phosphate content of meat emulsions.

Meat emulsions with a reduction of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of phosphate levels were produced. Soon after filling, the pieces were sonicated in an ultrasonic bath (normal mode, 60% amplitude, 25 KHz frequency, 230 W acoustic power, and 33 W L-1 volumetric power) for 0, 9, and 18 min. The technological, oxidative, and sensory quality was evaluated. The reduction of the phosphate content in the non-sonicated samples led to a decrease in the cooking yield and emulsion stability and impaired the texture profile, and the oxidative and sensory quality of the samples. Although the 9-min ultrasound treatment was not effective to compensate for defects caused by the phosphate reduction, the application for 18 min improved the technological quality and did not increase the lipid oxidation. In addition, it allowed reducing most of the sensory defects caused by the reduction of 50% of the phosphate level. Therefore, the US can be useful to produce low-phosphate meat emulsions.

Improving sensory acceptance and physicochemical properties by ultrasound application to restructured cooked ham with salt (NaCl) reduction.

The objective of this research was to study the effects of salt reduction and the application of ultrasound (nominal current of 600 W cm-2 for 10 min) on the physicochemical properties, the microstructure and the sensory acceptance of restructured cooked ham. Four treatments with reduced salt including one with the application of ultrasound (1.5, 1.12, 0.75 and 0.75% salt + ultrasound) were produced. The treatment with 0.75% salt provided a reduction of about 30% in the sodium content. The use of ultrasound decreased the Total Fluid Release and increased the hardness. For lightness, the sample with 0.75% salt with the application of ultrasound did not differ from the control at day zero of storage. The use of ultrasound increased redness too. The ultrasound treatment caused micro fissures on the myofibrils. The sensory acceptance of restructured cooked ham with 0.75% of salt was improved with ultrasound applied. The ultrasound showed good potential for use in the production of healthier meat products.

Classification of Chicken Parts Using a Portable Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectrophotometer and Machine Learning.

Identification of different chicken parts using portable equipment could provide useful information for the processing industry and also for authentication purposes. Traditionally, physical-chemical analysis could deal with this task, but some disadvantages arise such as time constraints and requirements of chemicals. Recently, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and machine learning (ML) techniques have been widely used to obtain a rapid, noninvasive, and precise characterization of biological samples. This study aims at classifying chicken parts (breasts, thighs, and drumstick) using portable NIR equipment combined with ML algorithms. Physical and chemical attributes (pH and L*a*b* color features) and chemical composition (protein, fat, moisture, and ash) were determined for each sample. Spectral information was acquired using a portable NIR spectrophotometer within the range 900-1700 nm and principal component analysis was used as screening approach. Support vector machine and random forest algorithms were compared for chicken meat classification. Results confirmed the possibility of differentiating breast samples from thighs and drumstick with 98.8% accuracy. The results showed the potential of using a NIR portable spectrophotometer combined with a ML approach for differentiation of chicken parts in the processing industry.