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How Can Chia and Oat Emulsion Gels Replace Animal Fat?

29 Jun

How to incorporate chia and oat emulsion gels as animal fat replacer?

by Food Research Lab

in New Food Product Development

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Introduction

Meat products contain a high amount of animal fat that is high in energy value and also increases the level of saturated fatty acid (SFA), cholesterol and chronic disorders such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. Meat products, such as pork sausages are commonly consumed in high amounts in European countries as they are rich in valuable nutrients (vitamins, iron and proteins). However, these meaty products are considered unhealthy due to their high-fat content (>30%), harmful fatty acid profile and high sodium contents.

To improve the fat content (with a healthier fatty acid profile) in the final formulated meat products, structuring oils have been proposed to retain solid-like properties. In particular, structured oil in water emulsion gels (EG) has been used to create healthier lipid meat product such as patties, fresh sausages etc. An interesting development of EG as a fat replacer would be to use plant-based ingredients which are rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA), insoluble fibre, β-glucans, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fatty acids. To achieve this application chia flour and /or oat bran have been tested and used to incorporate healthier compounds in the final recipe. Chia and Oats also provide a good gelling capacity, enhanced emulsifying activity and high fat/water binding capacity. At present EGs prepared from chia are used in frankfurters and oats are being used in fresh meat products to overcome animal fat replacements or reductions.

Chia over Oats:

Chia seeds have been well tested and experimented with when compared to oat. Chia can be used either as a whole seed or in the form of flour, depending on the final application. Chia flour contains 22 % proteins, 5.1 % carbohydrates, 31.3 % fat and 30.2% total fibre content. However, Oat bran contains 20% protein, 20% carbohydrates, 5% fat and 44% total fibre content. Fresh meat products can be fortified with chia as an ingredient to improve the nutritional and sensorial profile while taking advantage of its technological properties while processing. Research suggests that the incorporation of 1% chia seeds in low-fat ham enhanced sensory, nutritional compositions as well as physio-chemical properties. The incorporation of 10% chia in chicken nuggets resulted in better hardness, sensory properties and cooking yield.

How to create an emulsion gel?

Oil in water emulsion gel can be formulated as animal fat replacers. 20 % of Chia seeds or flour can be used to make Chia based emulsion gel (CEG), with 20 % of olive oil, 58% water and 2 % alginate-based gelling agent. Whereas an oat bran emulsion gel (OEG) can be made with 20% oat, 20 % olive oil, 58% water and 2% alginate-based gelling agent. To start making the EF, briefly homogenize the chia flour/ oat bran in a mixer or food processor. Add the gelling agent to the mixer and pulse the contents. Finally, add the olive oil in small gradual proportions to the mixture. Store the emulsion gel in air-tight metal containers under pressure, at 2 °C for 20 h until used to compact it.

Nutrition and health claims of Chia and Oats authorized by European Commission Regulation:

Sample	Conditions based on	Nutrition and Health claims
Sausage + Pork fat Sausage + Chia Emulsion Gel Sausage + Oats Emulsion Gel	20% of the energy value is from by protein	High Protein Growth and maintenance of muscles and bones. Protein required for bone development in children
At least 30% of fat replaced compared to similar product At least 30% of energy value reduced compared to similar product	Reduced fat Energy reduced
Sausage + Oats Emulsion Gel	1 g of beta-glucans from oats, oat bran, Product contains at least 2 mg Manganese	Beta-glucans helps in the maintenance of blood cholesterol levels Manganese aid in the maintenance of normal bones, formation of connectives tissues and prevents from oxidative stress.
Sausage + Chia Emulsion Gel	Product containing 0.6 g ALA /100 g of product, per 100 kcal At least 70% of fatty acids are unsaturated providing 20% of energy of the product.	ALA in maintaining blood cholesterol levels MUFA /PUFA contributes to the maintenance of blood cholesterol levels

Sausages made with full fat had a total fluid release (TFR) close to 24% irrespective of the fat content. However, in chia emulsion gel, the total fluid release was less than 1% and whereas in oat emulsion gels, the TFR was close to zero. Moreover, the oat emulsion gels reduce the overall cooking loss, with enhanced shear force.

Chia and oat emulsion gel have been found as novel sources providing nutritional and healthy components to meat products without any detrimental changes in the final sensory, technological and functional properties. Both emulsion gels result in a reduction in fat and energy content and qualify for reduced fat content and low-calorie claims in the label. This not only significantly improves the nutrition panel but also attracts healthy conscious consumers. For instance, sausages reformulated with these EG can be labelled with improved nutrition figures, health claims based on chia/oat incorporation.

These fat reformulations enhance the recommendations of PUFA, saturated fatty acid (SFA) and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios. Especially sausages with CEG have higher ALA content, significantly improving Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) concentrations; whereas the sausages with OEG have higher Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) contents.

Chia based emulsion gel contains increased amounts of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine and arginine. Oat based emulsion gel contains increased amounts of glutamic acid, methionine and serine. These novel reformulations also aid in water and fat binding properties and the final texture depends on the type of emulsion used. The reformulation processes involve changes in sensory aspects and characteristics of the food product development which is judged based on adequate microbiological quality and stability from day 0 to day 14. Chilled storage has very little effect on the technological properties of the sausage except for changes in the outside texture (slight increase in hardness) and the total microbial count was only affected in the chia based gels after 13 days.