Emulsion gels prepared with chia mucilage and olive oil as a new animal fat replacer in beef patties

Abstract

Recently, more and more research has focused on the potential application of emulsion gels as animal fat replacers in meat products due to their unique structures and functional properties. This study investigated the physicochemical, nutritional and sensorial characteristics of the low-fat beef patties formulated with emulsion gels elaborated with chia mucilage and olive oil as pork back fat replacer. Beef patties were made with five different fat replacement levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%). The result showed that with the improvement of the fat substitution level, the moisture content of reformulated patties was increased while the fat and protein content were decreased with respect to the control group. The levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were increased by up to 36% (fat replacement levels at 100%) and the health indices including the polyunsaturated fatty/saturated fatty acid ratio, atherogenicity index, and thrombogenicity index were modified. In addition, the reformulated patties obtained higher lipid stability than the control sample. Significant differences were found in the sensory evaluation (p > 0.05) between the control group and the total pork backfat replacement treatment, while the sensory properties of partial replacement (below 60%) were similar with respect to the control group. Therefore, the addition of emulsion gels ending up giving the beef patties positive characteristics, the partial replacement of pork backfat by emulsion gels is a viable option for developing a low-fat beef patty. Practical Applications Emulsion gels have a great potential for use to replace animal fat in meat products. With the use of chia mucilage-based emulsion gels, it is possible to produce low fat meat products with healthier fatty acid profile. In our research, an emulsion gel elaborated with chia mucilage and olive oil was used in development of the fat-reduced burger formulation. The use of chia mucilage-based emulsion gel is an ideal strategy to develop a healthy meat source for the human diet without negatively affecting the technological and sensory properties of the products.