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Aquafaba is the water solution left over from cooking legumes, mainly chickpeas. The liquid can also be obtained from canned beans. Aquafaba is currently very popular as an egg replacement in vegan diets. The chemical composition of aquafaba depends on the type of legume, variety, genotype and parameters during production, such as cooking time or proportions of water to seeds. Aquafaba can be used for its nutritional properties. Aquafaba is starting to be used more widely in food technology as well, due to its innovative texture-shaping properties. The foaming, emulsifying, gelling and thickening properties of aquafaba can be used in plant-based food recipes, but also in animal-based food recipes and 3D printing. So far, aquafaba has been used to make meringues, cakes, cookies, bread, crackers and vegan dairy substitutes. This raw material is used for the production of low-calorie food and for people on an egg-free diet. Perhaps the potential of this product is greater. The use of waste from legumes will be the answer from food producers to the needs of consumers, for whom environmental protection or the clean label trend are particularly important. In order to effectively use aquafaba in food technology, it is necessary to standardize its production process and conduct further research on the potential of using other legumes.

The aim of the study is to compare the effects of Salvia hispanica (Chia) seed and Nigella sativa (Black Cumin) seed in traditionally produced dry fermented sausages with reduced nitrites on the changes in physicochemical parameters (water content, pH, and water activity), thioarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), color parameters, the content of nitrosopigments, and microbial counts throughout the production process. At the end of the processing, the content of biogenic amines was also determined. Five samples were analyzed during the 30-day production process: the control sample, samples with 1% and 2% additions of chia seed, and samples with 1% and 2% additions of black cumin seed. It was indicated that the addition of chia or black cumin did not exert any effect on water content or water activity changes in fermented sausages. At the end of production, the samples were characterized by low water activity, in the range of 0.798–0.813. The sausages with chia seeds were characterized by the lowest pH due to the highest proliferation of lactic acid bacteria. TBARS values did not alter in both control and black cumin sausages throughout the experiment. Microbiological analysis showed that the addition of chia or black cumin seed enhances the proliferation of the lactic acid bacteria and caused a reduction in the number of Enterobacteriaceae in comparison to the control.