Powder/gelled inulin and sodium carbonate as novel phosphate replacers in restructured chicken steaks

Abstract

This study was performed to evaluate the characteristics of restructured chicken steaks with inulin and/or sodium carbonate as inorganic phosphate replacers. Six different treatments were formulated with 0.5% STPP (P), 0.2% sodium carbonate (C), 4.5% powder/gelled inulin (I, GI), and 4.5% powder/gelled inulin + 0.2% sodium carbonate (IC, GIC). P and C treatments had higher moisture content compared to I, GI, and GIC treatments. The samples containing inulin had lower total salt and sodium content compared to P and C samples. Incorporation of inulin and carbonate together was noted to increase protein solubility and provide equivalent pH and sensory characteristics to P samples. Use of gelled inulin decreased expressible moisture and improved juiciness. During frozen storage, inulin samples had similar oxidative and microbiological changes to phosphate samples, regardless of carbonate and/or inulin form. Consequently, utilization of inulin and sodium carbonate could compensate for the multi-functional effects of phosphates in restructured poultry products. Practical applications In the last decades, there has been a rising demand to ready-to-eat poultry products depending on the progress in production techniques, the change in consumer behaviors, and modernization of everyday life. On the other hand, consumers have become more and more conscious about the foodstuff they eat, thus the tendency toward healthier, natural, and additive-free meat products has been continuously increasing. Although phosphates are one of the widely used synthetic additives in meat product formulations, recently they have caused a negative impact due to their potential health risks. With this regard, phosphates are mentioned to be decreased or replaced in the content of reformulation strategies in meat products. Utilization of clean-label ingredients is a growing trend representing one of the novel strategies for the development of healthier and additive-free meat product formulations. Incorporation of inulin and sodium carbonate in phosphate-free meat products could be an interesting approach for designing healthier formulations since they have a good potential to compensate for the multifunctional impacts of phosphates as clean-label ingredients.