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This study aimed to develop a chia mucilage (MC)-based emulsion gel (EG) with olive oil to replace pork back fat in emulsified meat products. Six variables (alginate—ALG; collagen—COL; whey—WHEY; carboxymethylcellulose—CMC; transglutaminase—MTG; carrageenan—CAR) with MC were evaluated using a Plackett–Burman (PB) design. Then, a complete factorial design was applied to evaluate the interactions and properties of the selected variables (ALG, COL, and WHEY) for the manufacture of EGs. The responses evaluated in the EGs were pH, color, emulsion stability, rheological, and texture parameters. In PB, the variables CMC, COL, ALG, and WHEY did not lead to any significant effects on the pH values of EGs, which ranged from 5.6 to 5.8. WHEY had a significant effect on the increase in luminosity of the EGs. ALG and WHEY decreased the liquid release of the samples showing greater stability of EGs and meat model systems. All samples of EGs, apart from run 5 (CMC, MTG, CAR, and ALG), showed a typical gel-like behavior (Gʹ > Gʺ) and a frequency-independent behavior. Even the formulation with only mucilage (run 12) showed a dominant Gʹ forming a gel-like structure. The complete factorial design showed stable and strong interactions between WHEY, MC, and olive oil, since a small or no liquid release, were observed in all experiments with WHEY. This study contributed to understanding the interactions among MC, biopolymers, and proteins, disclosing the potentiality of chia mucilage-based emulsion gels for the replacement of animal fat in emulsified meat products., The authors thank National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP) (process numbers 140854/2016-9 and 2016/19967-7, respectively) for the financial support to this work and scholarships. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brazil (CAPES)-Finance Code 001.

Grape skin is a source of polyphenols with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Little information is available regarding its application in animal feeding. The present study investigated the effect of inclusion of fermented (FS) and unfermented (UFS) grape skin at two different doses (30 g/kg, FS30 and UFS30, and 60 g/kg, FS60 and UFS60) and 200 mg/kg vitamin E (α-tocopheryl acetate) in a corn-soybean diet on growth performance, ileal protein digestibility, ileal and excreta total extractable polyphenols content and digestibility, intestinal microbiota and thigh meat oxidation in broiler chickens. Growth performance was depressed in chickens fed UFS and FS diets. A reduction in ileal protein digestibility was also observed in birds fed UFS, being this effect more pronounced in those fed 60 g/kg. The dietary inclusion of grape skin increased both ileal and excreta polyphenols contents, being higher in birds fed UFS than in those fed FS. Excreta moisture content increased in birds fed UFS and FS diets. No effect of dietary inclusion of grape skin was observed on ileal counts of lactic-acid bacteria and Clostridium, but UFS inclusion in the diet reduced ileal count of Escherichia coli as compared with FS dietary inclusion. After 7 days of refrigerated storage, values of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were lower in chicken meat when grape skin was added in the diet at 60 g/kg instead of 30 g/kg, and meat from birds fed 60 g/kg of grape skin reached TBARS values similar to those of birds supplemented with vitamin E. In conclusion, high doses of grape skin polyphenols depressed growth performance and protein digestibility, and increased excreta moisture content. Unfermented grape skin contained more polyphenols than FS, and its inclusion in the diet led to higher ileal and excreta polyphenols contents and to a lower ileal count of E. coli. Furthermore, the antioxidant potential of the polyphenols present in grape skin was observed after 7 days of meat storage, with the dose of 60 g/kg of grape skin being as effective as vitamin E supplementation in maintaining oxidative stability of meat., The authors wish to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy (MINECO, Spain), Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid and Junta de Castilla y Leon for financial support of this investigation: projects AGL2012-31355/GAN, MEDGAN-CM S2013/ABI2913 and UCA304U13, respectively. The authors are also grateful to the MIUR and UNIMOL for the PhD fellowship of Maria Nardoia.

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.

This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies for the Development of Healthier Meat and Meat Products and Determination of Their Quality Characteristics., This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-107542RB-C21), by the CSIC Intramural projects (grant numbers 201470E073 and 202070E242), CYTED (Reference 119RT0568; Healthy Meat network).

Healthier meat products have a major economic potential and are attracting considerable research and media attention to meet the growing and complex consumer demand. Whether this potential will be realized and at what speed is contingent on consumers’ acceptance of these novel foods. This study uses a cross-cultural context to co-create new healthier meat products, while mapping the conditions leading to consumers’ product acceptance (vs. rejection). Results from online focus groups conducted in Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom show that consumers generally have a negative attitude toward healthier meat products due to unfamiliarity and perception of over-processing. Nevertheless, partial meat-substitution with plant-based ingredients together with fat and salt reduction show specific conditions under which consumers’ acceptance would be possible. This is further related to product-specific factors: ingredients and base meat, and marketing-related factors: labelling and packaging. Finally, implications and recommendations for the manufacturing and marketing of new healthier meat products are provided., This study has received funding from EIT Food (https://www.eitfood.eu/) through the project “Consumer attitudes towards healthier processed meat products” (grant number: 20206, EIT Food Business Plan 2020).

[Background]: A high‐fiber emulsion gel (EG) containing inulin, soy protein isolate, and soybean oil was applied as animal fat replacer in reduced salt and fat Bologna sausage containing mechanically deboned chicken meat, pork meat, and pork back fat. Technological and microbiological properties were evaluated for 60 days at 4 °C., [Results]: A reduction of 11 to 34% and 35 to 45% of fat and sodium were obtained in reformulated products, respectively. An increase in fiber content and polyunsaturated fatty acid was noticed in the formulations with EG. The addition of EG in Bologna increased L* (lightness) values and reduced a* (redness/greenness) values comparing to control treatment. Microstructural properties of sausages exhibited a denser network with the presence of EG. Softer, more elastic, cohesive and resilient samples with a higher intensity of lipid oxidation (P, [Conclusion]: These results suggest that inulin‐based EG is a potential fat substitute for developing healthier meat products, with better fatty acids composition and stable to chilled storage., The authors are thankful to CNPq (140 531/2015‐7), CAPES (140 531/2015‐7), and FAPESP (2016/19 967‐7) for providing financial support and scholarships that sustained this study.

Polyphenols have interesting antioxidant properties and could help prevent certain diseases. Emulsion gels (EGs) have characteristics that make them a promising alternative system for supplying several bioactive compounds simultaneously, among them polyphenols. We produced four EGs containing olive oil, soy protein and a cold gelling agent based on alginate. One basic formulation (ES) contained only these ingredients and was used as a reference, while the other three also contained different solid polyphenol extracts from grape seed (G), grape seed and olive (O) or grape total (T), called ESG, ESO and EST, respectively. The corresponding EGs were prepared by mixing soy protein, alginate, water and one of these types of polyphenol extract (G, O or T), using a homogenizer. Then, the olive oil was gradually added to the mixture and finally, each mixture was placed in a metal container under pressure and chilled for 24 h until they formed an EG. The composition (including concentrations of phenolic metabolites), and technological and structural properties of these EGs were evaluated. Hydroxytyrosol was identified in all the EGs, but ESO showed the highest (P < 0.05) content. The EGs with added polyphenols showed contents of gallic acid, flavanol monomers and derivatives, with ESG showing the highest (P < 0.05) content. All the EGs showed optimal thermal stability, while colour and texture parameters were significantly influenced by the type of polyphenol extract added. No significant differences in the frequency or half-bandwidth of the 2923 and 2853 cm−1 infrared bands were observed., This research was supported by the projects: PID2019-107542RB-C21, Intramural 201470E073 and 202070E242, EIT Food (20206; Consumer attitudes towards healthier processed meat products) and CYTED (ref. 119RT0568; HealthyMeat network).

Society today is calling for optimized lipid content in meat products in line with health recommendations and nutritional guidelines. The meat product reformulation strategies offering the biggest advantages in improving lipid content are based on replacing animal fat with lipid materials featuring solid-fat characteristics that are created using gelling procedures containing vegetable and/or marine oils. From among different gelling lipid materials, special attention is being paid to emulsion gels (EGs) and oil bulking agents (OBAs) owing to their composition and technological advantages in the development of healthier meat products. Both gelling lipid materials can be effectively used as fat analogues in different healthier meat products. The properties of these products reformulated with EGs and OBAs are not adversely affected., This research was supported by the projects: PID2019-107542RB-C21, the two Intramurals201470E073 and 202070E242, and CYTED (ref. 119RT0568; HealthyMeat network).

This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies for the Development of Healthier Meat and Meat Products and Determination of Their Quality Characteristics., This review focuses on the importance of developing meat products with healthier lipid content and strategies such as the use of structured lipids to develop these enriched products. The review also conducts a critical analysis of the use of vibrational spectroscopy as a tool to further these developments. Meat and meat products are extensively recognized and consumed in the world. They are an important nutritional contribution in our diet. However, their consumption has also been associated with some negative consequences for health due to some of its components. There are new trends in the design of healthy meat products focusing mainly on improving their composition. From among the different strategies, improving lipid content is the one that has received the most attention. A novel development is the formation of lipid materials based on structured lipids such emulsion gels (EGs) or oil-bulking agents (OBAs) that offer attractive applications in the reformulation of health-enhanced meat products. A deeper interpretation is required of the complicated relationship between the structure of their components and their properties in order to obtain structured lipids and healthier meat products with improved lipid content and acceptable characteristics. To this end, vibrational spectroscopy techniques (Raman and infrared spectroscopy) have been demonstrated to be suitable in the elucidation of the structural characteristics of lipid materials based on structured lipids (EGs or OBAs) and the corresponding reformulated health-enhanced meat products into which these fat replacers have been incorporated. Future research on these structures and how they correlate to certain technological properties could help in selecting the best lipid material to achieve specific technological properties in healthier meat products with improved lipid content., This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-107542RB-C21), by the CSIC Intramural projects (grant numbers 201470E073 and 202070E242), CYTED (grant number reference 119RT0568; Healthy Meat network) and the EIT Food Project 20206 (https://www.eitfood.eu/).

This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies for the Development of Healthier Meat and Meat Products and Determination of Their Quality Characteristics., This paper evaluates how grilling, a traditional culinary procedure for fresh meat products, affects the composition and technological properties of healthy longanizas formulated with chia (Salvia hispanica L.) (C-RF) and oat (Avena sativa L.) (O-RF) emulsion gels (EGs) as animal fat replacers. The use of EGs, regardless of whether they contain chia or oat, improved longaniza performance during cooking as they lost less (p < 0.05) water and fat. The composition of cooked sausages was affected by their formulation, particularly those with chia EG (C-RF) which featured the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid content, mainly due to the higher level of α-linolenic fatty acid (1.09 g/100 g of product). Chia and oat EGs in C-RF and O-RF allow longanizas to be labeled with nutritional and health claims under European law. In general, this culinary procedure increases (p < 0.05) the lightness, lipid oxidation and texture parameters of all samples., This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-107542RB-C21), by the CSIC Intramural projects (grant number 201470E073 and 202070E242), CYTED (grant number reference 119RT0568; HealthyMeat network) and the EIT Food Project 20206 (https://www.eitfood.eu/).

This article evaluates the use of emulsion gels (EGs) containing two different solid polyphenol extracts [from grape seed (R-EPG) or grape seed and olive (R-EPGO)] as animal fat replacers in the development of frankfurters. The incorporation of EGs improved their lipid content, particularly R-EPG and R-EPGO also contained high levels of phenolic compounds (hydroxytyrosol and flavanols). These frankfurters were judged acceptable by the panellists and showed good thermal and storage stability. Colour parameters, pH and textural properties were affected (p < 0.05) by the formulation, being significant the influence of polyphenols extracts. Spectroscopic results showed greater (p < 0.05) inter- and intramolecular lipid disorder in the frankfurters with EGs, irrespective of the presence of polyphenol extracts. Comparing the reduced-fat samples, R-EPG and R-EPGO showed the lowest (p < 0.05) total viable counts. Significant changes in pH and texture parameters were observed during chilled storage while lipid structure was not affected., This research was supported by the projects: PID2019-107542RB-C21, Intramural 201470E073 and 202070E242, EIT Food (20206; Consumer attitudes towards healthier processed meat products) and CYTED (ref. 119RT0568; HealthyMeat network).

The impact of free and encapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum addition on the physicochemical and microbiological properties during chilled storage (60 days) of dry‐fermented sausages have been studied. Control (C) treatment was performed without probiotic incorporation, and the reformulation was comprised of L. plantarum as free cells (F) in alginate spheres (EA), in water‐in‐oil simple emulsion (ESM) and in water‐in‐oil‐in‐water double emulsion (EDM). After 60 days of storage, lower (P < 0.05) lipid oxidation was observed in F and EA (0.602–0.625 mg MDA kg−1) while it was higher (P < 0.05) in EDM (1.949 mg MDA kg−1). Treatments C and ESM presented intermediate TBARS levels compared to other treatments at the end of storage. All dry‐fermented sausages presented high levels of lactic acid bacteria during the whole chilled storage (8.06–9.29 log CFU g−1 at day 0 and 8.02–9.35 log CFU g−1); however, EA treatment presented the highest L. plantarum viability even at 60 days of storage (8.34 log CFU g−1). Therefore, the strategy of L. plantarum inoculation in alginate spheres seems to be the best strategy for the delivery of probiotics during chilled storage of dry‐fermented sausages., This research was supported by Intramural Project 201447E073. The authors would like to thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Ministry of Education of Brazil for the fellowship to Carlos Pasqualin Cavalheiro through the process BEX 8146/2014‐4. Claudia Ruiz‐Capillas is member of the HealthyMeat network, funded by Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarollo (CYTED) (ref. 119RT0568).

Meat and meat products can be contaminated by physical hazards, which are a big concern for meat industries. The incidence of physical hazards in meat products from 2016 to 2018 in Brazil have been investigated through a website (Reclame Aqui) used by consumers to express their dissatisfaction. A total of 408 consumers' complaints were found involving the presence of physical hazards in meat and meat products. The greatest percentage of complaints was found in sausages (fresh, dried, and cooked sausages such as Linguiça Calabresa, Linguiça Portuguesa, and Linguiça Toscana, among others; 33.33%) followed by hamburgers (17.89%), fresh chicken meat (12.25%), and chicken nuggets (9.80%). Fewer consumers’ complaints were found in fresh pork meat (0.49%), fresh bovine meat (0.49%), and chopped ham (0.49%). The presence of bones (26.96%) was the major physical hazard found in meat products followed by plastic (25.24%), insect (11.26%), and metal (8.82%). Results indicated that even with quality programs implemented in the industry such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Hygienic Practices, sometimes failures on processing line, packaging, commercialization, and service inspection can happen. Nonetheless, in order to detect physical hazards in meat products, the use of new technologies such as metal detector, sensors, and X-ray equipment by meat processors is extremely recommended., The authors would like to thank FAPESB and CNPq for the fellowships to Juliana Santana Falcão Leite and Samuel Keryson Rodrigues da Silva Felix. Claudia Ruiz-Capillas is a member of the HealthyMeat network, funded by CYTED (ref. 119RT0568).

The effect of 2% grape seed and 2% grape skin powder added to chicken thigh patties stored at 4°C was assessed by measuring lipid oxidation, total phenolic content, pH, color changes and sensory attributes. The addition of these grape by-products to the patties lowered pH values and significantly reduced in lightness, redness and yellowness compared with the control. However, the addition of grape seed and skin significantly improved the oxidative stability of raw chicken patties due to higher total phenolic content, grape seed being more effective than skin in this regard. The phenolic content of these samples remained stable even after cooking. The acceptability of the chicken meat in general was not affected by the addition of grape by-products. These results show that grape seed and grape skin could potentially be used as natural antioxidants in raw chicken patties and would be accepted by consumers., The authors thank the MINECO, and CSIC for financial support of Projects AGL2012-31355/GAN and the Intramural 2014470E073. Also we are grateful the CAM and ESI Funds for the financial support the project MEDGAN-CM S2013/ABI2913). Thanks to the MIUR and UNIMOL for the PhD fellowship of Maria Nardoia.

Grape byproducts are rich sources of polyphenols with powerful antioxidant and health-promoting effects. The impact of supplementing chicken diets with grape byproducts on plasma and thigh meat concentrations of phenolic metabolites was evaluated by analyzing samples by high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. Chickens were fed three experimental diets: Control diet, Control+8% grape pomace, and Control+0.1% grape seed extract. In plasma, 32 phenolic metabolites were identified, some of which were conjugated catechin/epicatechin metabolites exclusively identified in chickens fed diets enriched in grape byproducts. Also, these chickens showed significantly higher plasmatic concentrations of 21 phenolic metabolites. In thigh meat, 14 phenolic metabolites were identified, but no differences were found between diets. Higher plasmatic tocopherol was found when supplementing diets with grape byproducts, while no changes were observed in meat. Thus, supplementing chicken diets with grape byproducts leads to a significant increase in the circulation of phenolic metabolites and tocopherol., Authors thank the CAM for financially supporting Project MEDGAN-CM S2013/ABI2913 and MINECO and CSIC for financially supporting Project Intramural 2014470E07.

Chia features interesting nutritional and technological properties and therefore has been incorporated into different types of meat products. Particularly, it has been used to develop new lipid materials based on chia emulsion gels which have enormous potential as animal fat replacers in the development of healthier meat products. This lipid material contributes to achieving meat products with optimal technological and organoleptic properties and improved lipid content. These products also contain other bioactive compounds such as minerals, dietary fiber, etc. which in some cases allow nutritional and health claims within the framework of European legislation., This research was supported under Projects AGL2010-19515/ALI, AGL2011-29644-C02-01, MEDGAN-CM S2013/ABI2913; Intramural project CSIC 2014470E073.

[Background]: Chorizo is a high-value Spanish-type dry fermented sausage, highly appreciated by consumers. In this kind of product, Lactobacillus plantarum plays an important role in the fermentation process and can also be considered as a probiotic. The impact of different strategies for incorporating probiotic L. plantarum into the physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensorial characteristics of chorizo sausages was studied. These strategies were: free cells (Cfc); alginate beads (Calg); water-in-oil emulsion (Cwo), and water-in-oil-in-water emulsion (Cwow). Proximate composition, weight loss, pH, aw , color, and microbiological behavior were evaluated during the ripening (20 days) of chorizo., [Results]: The strategy of incorporating L. plantarum significantly affected the proximate composition, pH, and aw of sausages. However, the traditional red color of chorizo was maintained for all formulations. The incorporation of probiotics as free cells or encapsulated in alginate beads resulted in higher counts of lactic acid bacteria and L. plantarum, lower counts of Enterobacteriaceae, and in acceptable sensory scores., [Conclusion]: Overall, the quality of chorizo sausages was conditioned by the incorporation strategy, and the addition of probiotics in alginate beads (Calg) was the most effective strategy., This research was supported by projects AGL 2011‐29644‐C02‐01 of the Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarollo e Innovación Tecnológica (I+D+I) Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, Intramural Project 201447E073 and project MEDGAN‐CM S2013/ABI2913 of CAM and ESI financial. The authors would like to thank CAPES, Ministry of Education of Brazil, for the fellowship to Carlos Pasqualin Cavalheiro through the BEX 8146/2014‐4 process. Claudia Ruiz‐Capillas is a member of the HealthyMeat network, funded by CYTED (ref. 119RT0568).

Lipids, as food constituents, have been receiving a great deal of attention due to their association with the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Since muscle food, mainly meat and meat products, is one of the main sources of fat, great efforts have been made, including by the meat industry, to modify its content. The procedures offering the greatest advantages in terms of opportunity and versatility are based on replacing animal fat with oils of vegetable and/or marine origin in accordance with health recommendations. Gelled fat replacers containing these oils and which are made with solid-fat characteristics are a novel approach to improving the lipid content of food products. Among gelled fat replacers, special attention should be paid to those that include healthy oil emulsion gels and oil bulking agents owing to their nutritional and technological advantages in the development of healthier muscle-based foods containing lipids. This chapter features a review of the importance of improving the lipid profile of food, the possibility of using biopolymers as gelling agents, and novel strategies for using these biopolymers as gelled fat replacers incorporating healthy oils. Different aspects related to the composition, preparation, structural organization, and their applications in the development of healthy muscle food products containing lipids will be described.

[Purpose]: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of different dietary fibers on color, nutritional, physico-chemical, sensory and textural properties of fresh sausage., [Design/methodology/approach]: This study was undertaken to determine the effects of partial beef meat substitution (15, 10.5 and 6 percent) at different combinations: barley beta-glucan concentrate (BBC at 1 percent) alone, carrot fiber (ID809 at 1 percent) alone and a mixture of both fibers (BBC and ID809 at 0.5 percent of each), on the quality of fresh sausage., [Findings]: Results revealed that the supplementation of dietary fibers generally decreased protein contents and increased moisture. Color parameters were significantly affected by the addition of dietary fibers. Meat substitution with dietary fibers tended toward red coloration, which enhanced sensory properties of fresh sausages, especially general acceptability. Fresh sausages formulated with a mixture of dietary fibers recorded good firmness. Indeed, it increased extrusion force values and provided a greater hardness at sensory level. This manuscript reports that beef sausage formulated with a mixture of BBC and ID809 and reduced beef meat rate improved acceptability to consumer., [Originality/value]: The paper approaches a new subject that may be relevant to functional food. There are few research works to evaluate consumer preferences of new product developments and to achieve healthier and more economic fresh sausages formulated with a mixture of two fibers after reducing beef meat content., This research was financially supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Information and Communication Technology.

This study evaluated the effects of E. faecium CECT 410 inoculation, either as free cells (CFC) or in alginate beads (CALG), on the ripening and storage of dry-fermented sausages. Both formulations presented acceptable weight losses during ripening. In both the CFC and CALG treatments, pH values were lower (P < 0.05) at the end of the ripening and storage stages. Dry-fermented sausages with the incorporation of probiotics via alginate beads had higher (P < 0.05) protein and fat, but lower (P < 0.05) moisture content. The addition of E. faecium CECT 410 did not affect lipid oxidation in dry-fermented sausages. Counts of E. faecium CECT 410 were higher than 7 log CFU g−1 during the ripening and storage periods, except in the control (CC), in which it was not detected as a natural microbiota. Altogether, the addition of E. faecium CECT 410, both as free cells (CFC) and in alginate beads (CALG), was effective at producing probiotic dry-fermented sausages., This research was supported by the projects: PID 2019-107542RB-C21, Intramural 201470E073 and 202070E242 and CYTED (ref. 119RT0568; HealthyMeat network). The authors would like to thank CAPES, Ministry of Education of Brazil for the fellowship to Carlos Pasqualin Cavalheiro through the process BEX 8146/2014-4.

This article belongs to the Special Issue By-Products: Characterisation and Use as Food., There is an increased interest and need to make our economy more circular and our diets healthier and more sustainable. One way to achieve this is to develop upcycled foods that contain food industry by-products in their formulation. In this context, the aim of this study was to develop muffins containing upcycled sunflower flour (a by-product from the sunflower oil industry) and assess the effects of sunflower flour addition on the fibre, protein, amino acid, mineral content, and antioxidant activity measured by a Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay and Photo chemiluminescence (PCL) assay. Results show that the sunflower flour inclusion significantly improved all the parameters analysed as part of this study. A more balanced muffin amino acid profile was achieved, thanks to the increased levels of lysine, threonine, and methionine, the limiting essential amino acids of wheat flour. We can conclude that upcycled ingredients, such as sunflower flour, could be used for the nutritional improvement of baked goods, such as muffins. Their addition can result in several nutritional advantages that could be communicated on packaging through the use of the appropriate EU nutrition claims, such as those on protein, fibre, and mineral content., The APC for this article was funded by the University of Reading Open Access Fund, OA177790.

The influence of the probiotic strain “Lactobacillus plantarum TN8” bacterium and dietary fiber, namely barley beta-glucan concentrate (BBC), in raw beef sausage on microbiological, color and textural analyses was studied using a Box- Behnken design. Twenty seven treatments representing different replacement levels for meat and sodium nitrite with the L. plantarum TN8 strain and BBC fiber were studied. Results showed that reformulated sausages contained low levels of nitrite even at 0.1% application and the probiotic strain decreased the microbial load for up to 10 days at 4 °C. The newly formulated sausages affected positively a* and b* values. The optimized conditions (75 g/kg meat; 0.1 g/kg nitrite, 0.25% fiber and 5 × 107 CFU/g of probiotic TN8) in the final product decreased chewiness and elasticity. These parameters were influenced by fiber and nitrite levels including interactions., This research was financially supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, and Scientific Research.

This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies for the Development of Healthier Meat and Meat Products and Determination of Their Quality Characteristics., Upcycled defatted sunflower seed flour (SUN), a by-product obtained from sunflower oil extraction, was used as an animal fat replacer to develop healthier frankfurters. For that end, animal fat was replaced (~50%) with water and 2% or 4% of SUN. Nutritional composition, technological, structural and sensorial properties were evaluated. SUN incorporation led to a significant increase in protein, minerals (magnesium, potassium, copper and manganese) and a decrease in fat content (~37% less than control with all animal fat). The incorporation of SUN in frankfurters promoted the presence of phenolic compounds. Increasing SUN addition lead to an increasingly (p < 0.05) darker frankfurter colour. Samples with SUN at 4% were firmer than the control according to TPA and sensory analysis results and showed the highest lipid disorder attributed to more lipid interactions in the meat matrix. SUN addition as an animal fat replacer in frankfurters is a feasible strategy to valorise sunflower oil by-products and obtain healthier frankfurters, This research was funded by the CSIC Intramural project (grant number 201470E073) and CYTED (grant number reference 119RT0568; HealthyMeat network). Anastasia Palatzidi was the recipient of an Erasmus+ fellowship and of an EIT Food RIS Fellowship 2019—funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the European Union. Simona Grasso was a recipient of a travel bursary from the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health at the University of Reading

This paper studies the changes that occur in free amino acid and biogenic amine contents of raw meats (beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey) during storage (2 &deg, C, 10 days). The meat cuts samples were harvested from a retail outlet (without getting information on the animals involved) as the following: Beef leg (four muscles), pork leg (five muscles), lamb leg (seven muscles), turkey leg (four muscles), and chicken breast (one muscle). Meat composition varied according to meat types. In general, pH, microbiology counts, biogenic amine (BA), and free amino acid (FAA) contents were also affected by meat types and storage time (p &lt, 0.05). Chicken and turkey presented the highest levels (p &lt, 0.05) of FAAs. Total free amino acids (TFAA) were higher (p &lt, 0.05) in white meats than in red ones. The behavior pattern, of the total free amino acids precursors (TFAAP) of Bas, was saw-toothed, mainly in chicken and turkey meat during storage, which limits their use as quality indexes. Spermidine and spermine contents were initially different among the meats. Putrescine was the most prevalent BA (p &lt, 0.05) irrespective of species. In general, chicken and turkey contained the highest (p &lt, 0.05) levels of BAs, and TFAAP of BAs. In terms of the biogenic amine index (BAI), the quality of chicken was the worst while beef meat was the only sample whose quality remained acceptable through the study. This BAI seems to be more suitable as a quality index for white meat freshness than for red meat, especially for beef.

[Purpose]: This study aims to protect Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium encapsulated in alginate beads during stress treatments, such as high temperatures and concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) and sodium nitrite (NaNO2)., [Design/methodology/approach]: Free and encapsulated probiotics were subjected to 70 and 80°C during 5, 10, 20 and 30 min. In addition, the probiotics were subjected to concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 per cent NaCl and 0.5 and 1.0per cent of NaNO2., [Findings]: Free Lactobacillus plantarum was more resistant to heat than free Enterococcus faecium. Alginate-encapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum (ALP) also was more resistant to heat treatments than alginate-encapsulated Enterococcus faecium (AEF). After 30 min at 70°C, ALP showed levels about 6.9 log CFU/g while AEF presented 4.3 log CFU/g (p = 0.005). However, at 80°C, ALP maintained levels higher than 6 log CFU/g for up to 10 min, while AEF was able to maintain those levels only for approximately 5 min (p = 0.003). Encapsulation process provided adequate protection for both probiotics against NaCl. In relation to NaNO2 concentrations, 0.5 and 1.0 per cent reduced viability of both probiotics (p = 0.014), either as free cells or as alginate-encapsulated forms., [Practical implications]: Alginate beads containing probiotics is an interesting alternative for application in foods such as cooked meat products., [Originality/value]: Alginate beads elaborated with milk powder, inulin and trehalose were effective to protect probiotics in stress situations similar to those can be found in the processing of foods, such as cooked meat products., This work was supported by projects AGL 2011-29644-C02-01 of the Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica (I + D + I) Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología and the Intramural Project 2014470E073. The authors thank CAPES, Ministry of Education of Brazil for the fellowship to Carlos Pasqualin Cavalheiro through the process BEX 8146/2014-4.

Emulsion gels (EGs) offer interesting possibilities for structuring edible oils and obtaining ingredients with solid-like mechanical characteristics and depending on the ingredients used with healthier properties. In that context, the aim of this study was to develop EGs with chia oil, alginate (as cold gelling agent) and different plant derivatives (oat bran, soy protein isolate and chia flour) with both health benefits and appropriate properties for use for example as animal fat replacers in reduced-fat meat products. To that end, technological properties (pH, colour, texture, etc.) and lipid structure, determined by Raman spectroscopy, were investigated in various chia oil emulsion gels (EGs) prepared with chia oil, alginate and soy protein isolate (SEG), oat bran (OEG) or chia flour (CEG). No noticeable release of exudates was observed in chia oil EGs after processing. pH, colour and textural behaviour (evaluated as puncture force and gel strength) differed (p < 0.05) depending on the composition of the plant ingredients (soy protein, oat bran or chia flour) that contain these EGs. Raman spectroscopic results, particularly significant differences found in area and I/I, revealed differences depending on EG composition in the lipid structure and interactions in terms of lipid acyl chain mobility (order/disorder). These lipid structural characteristics of chia oil EGs correlated significantly with a specific textural feature. The results suggest that chia oil EGs could be developed for use as healthier lipid ingredients in new food systems such as healthier meat products., This research was supported under Projects AGL2014-53207-C2-1-R (MINECO), MEDGAN-CM-S2013/ABI2913 (CAM) and Intramural projects 201470E056 and 201470E073 (CSIC).

An experiment was conducted to study the dietary effect that the inclusion (40 g kg) of grape seed (GS), grape skin (SS), grape pomace (GP), and (0.2 g kg) of vitamin E (E) had on the composition and microbiological quality of chicken breast meat and on the physico-chemical parameters (TBARS, pH, color, Kramer shear force), sensorial characteristics, and microbiological quality of chicken breast meat patties during chilled storage (0, 3, 6, and 9 days) at 2 °C. In general, proximate composition and microbial counts of the raw chicken breast meat and the patties were not affected. Lower TBARS values were detected in patties formulated with breast meat obtained from birds fed E, SS, and GP diets. No clear effect was observed on the color or textural characteristics of the different patties. The addition of SS and GP in chicken diets reduced TBARS values showing some improvement in the oxidative stability of breast patties without affecting its technological properties, sensorial attributes, or microbial quality., The authors thank the MINECO and CSIC for financial support of Projects AGL2012-31355/GAN, AGL2014-53207-C2-1-R, and the Intramural 2014470E073. In addition, we are grateful to CAM and ESI Funds for financially supporting project MEDGAN-CM S2013/ABI2913). We would also like to thank MIUR and UNIMOL for the Ph.D. fellowship of Maria Nardoia.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of a combination of probiotic strains namely, Lactobacillus plantarum TN8 and Pediococcus acidilactici MA 18/5M and dietary fiber on microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics of sausages stored at 4 °C up to 12 days. L. plantarum TN8 might be a potential food additive in the meat industry as a probiotic agent. Microbial counts revealed a decrease in Enterobacteriaceae of inoculated sausages, which reached values below 2 log CFU/g in the stored product. Reformulated sausages recorded good textural attributes and improved sensory features. At the end of storage period, sausages with different probiotic strains decreased the b* color parameter and cooking loss when compared with control samples. Sensorial and color parameters could be used for constructing regression models to predict overall acceptability. On the other hand, the free fatty acid profile was significantly affected by probiotic strains. Overall, the inclusion of two probiotic strains and fiber improved the hygienic quality and sensorial features of sausages., This research was funded by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (LRCBS05), and by a bilateral project between Tunisia and Morocco (17TM06).