Healthy vegetable oils and ingredients for reduced pork back fat content and evaluation of their impact on the nutritional aspects of comminuted cooked sausages

Abstract

This study compares three healthy vegetable oils, from chia, milk thistle and pumpkin seeds, added as emulsions for partial substitution of animal fat and evaluation of the effect of quinoa flour as a potato starch substitute in the meat matrix of cooked sausages. For the purpose of evaluating the nutritional properties of the samples, the fatty acid composition, the cholesterol content and the oxidative changes in the lipid fraction were determined, and testing was performed for examination of sensory perception of the reformulated cooked sausages. Lower malondialdehyde (MDA) quantities were found in the sausages made with the addition of quinoa flour compared to the respective potato starch samples. In the reformulated meat products, the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (PUFA/SFA) ratio of 0.67 was recorded in the sample made with chia oil and quinoa flour. The same sample was given the highest overall sensory score, whereas the respective sample made with potato starch received a lower overall score, statistically indiscernible in relation to the milk thistle samples (P>0.05). The lowest sensory acceptance was reported for the samples made with pumpkin seed oil. The milk thistle oil, characterised by negligible cholesterol content and high phytosterol content, proved most interesting and capable of enrichment with unsaturated fatty acids.

Keywords

• sausages
• chia oil
• milk thistle oil
• pumpkin seed oil
• quinoa
• fatty acids
• cholesterol content