Partial and total replacement of meat by plant-based proteins in chicken sausage: evaluation of mechanical, physico-chemical and sensory characteristics

Abstract

The processed meats are classified in the first category of carcinogenic compounds due to its numerous health issues. For this reason, there is a growing interest to utilize healthy ingredients for formulation of meat-based products. The objective of this study was to replace completely and partially meat by plant proteins in sausage formulation and compare the characteristics of these novel formulae with full meat sample. The results showed that the plant proteins minimized the cooking loss and shrinkage and improved emulsion stability by creating a strong structural network in cooked emulsion. In contrast, the full meat samples had better strength/elasticity in terms of folding score (4.67 out of 5) and gel strength (2553.68 g mm) when compared to meat-reduced and meat-free samples. The sensory assessment showed that replacement of chicken meat by plant proteins was highly acceptable in terms of texture, odor, color and overall acceptance. Overall, it is concluded that plant proteins can be regarded as promising ingredients to replace 80-100% meat in sausage.

Detailed characterization of plant-based burgers

“…A lower shear force was needed to cut PBB (6.34 N) than MBB (12.85 N; P = 0.004) when cooked using the water bath method (S-Table 2 ), probably due to the greater dietary fiber content of PBB. These findings were in agreement with results obtained in plant-based and chicken sausages 11 , where a significant lower cooking loss and a numerical lower shear force in the former than in the latter were reported. However, we did not observe such differences in shear force when the cooking plate method instead of the water bath one was used (S-Table 2 ).…”

“…The raw PBB analyzed presented a slightly higher and more variable pH than the raw MBB, likely due to the greater alkalinity and diversity of the ingredients used to manufacture PBB (Table 1 ). These results are in line with those reported in a recent study 11 comparing chicken sausages with plant-based sausages manufactured with soy protein isolate. Consumers expect that raw burgers present a reddish color, because they associate the term ‘burger’ with a meat product, where the reddish color is related to the greater presence of hemoglobin –heme prosthetic group– due to erythrocytes and myoglobin 12 .…”

Role of Sensory Evaluation in Consumer Acceptance of Plant-Based Meat Analogs and Meat Extenders: A Scoping Review

“…Gluten is the main protein source in wheat, and it is commonly added to processed meats as a binding agent for its viscoelastic properties that allow to form a cohesive network in the product. Kamani and colleagues [ 38 ] used soy protein isolate and wheat gluten to develop two products, (1) a meat-free sausage and (2) a reduced-meat sausage containing only 20% of chicken. Results from the hedonic test showed no significant differences in the liking texture scores between samples containing both 80% and 100% plant proteins compared to the full-meat control.…”

“…Implementing the results from sensory evaluation, which is subjective, with instrumental results from texture analysis allows to either confirm the outcome of the study or identify possible inconsistencies in the methods. However, it should be noted that Kamani and colleagues [ 38 ] collected hedonic responses using a trained panel, which goes against the standard procedure of sensory evaluation method for consumer acceptability. Thus, these results should be analyzed with caution due to methodological issues and represent a limitation of the study.…”

Strategies for Sustainable Substitution of Livestock Meat

“…Therefore, apart from developing novel meat substitutes, acceptability of plant substitutes depends on projection of a positive image of meat alternatives (low fat, low carbon footprint) [50], better availability of pertinent knowledge about preparation of meals, and decreased pricing index [13]. In addition, reducing the meaning of livestock meat as a status food and elevating awareness about human health issues can contribute to the growth of the substitutes market [24,51].…”