Phosphate Elimination in Emulsified Meat Products: Impact of Protein-Based Ingredients on Quality Characteristics

Abstract

The addition of phosphates to meat products improves the emulsifying and gelling properties of meat proteins, in turn enhancing overall product quality. The current market trend towards additive-free products and the health issues related to phosphate challenge the industry to develop phosphate-free meat products. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of seven protein-based ingredients (pea, blood plasma, gelatin, soy, whey, egg, and potato) to remediate quality losses of emulsified meat products (cooked sausages) upon phosphate elimination. First, the intrinsic gelling and emulsifying characteristics of the proteins were assessed. Next, the proteins were added to phosphate-free sausages, of which quality characteristics during production (viscoelastic behavior and emulsion stability) and of the final products (texture, cooking loss, and pH) were screened. Blood plasma and soy were superior in phosphate-free cooked sausages, as no significant differences in hardness, cooking yield, or stability were found compared to phosphate-containing sausages. Egg and pea also improved the previously mentioned quality characteristics of phosphate-free sausages, although to a lesser extent. These insights could not entirely be explained based on the intrinsic gelling and emulsifying capacity of the respective proteins. This indicated the importance of a well-defined standardized meat matrix to determine the potential of alternative proteins in meat products.

Total and Partial Fat Replacement by Gelled Emulsion (Hemp Oil and Buckwheat Flour) and Its Impact on the Chemical, Technological and Sensory Properties of Frankfurters

“…The higher the TEF percentage, the lower the emulsion stability. The replacement of animal fat by GE (at any percentage) did not cause significant differences (p > 0.05) in emulsion stability, values ranging from 1.03 to 1.72 % (Figure 1) in all samples, which is according to normal values for these type of sausages [17]. Some authors have reported that the simple reduction of back fat in cooked sausages decreased their stability [13].…”

“…sausages [17]. Some authors have reported that the simple reduction of back fat in cooked sausages decreased their stability [13].…”

“…In any case, this replacement is not an easy task, mainly due to both, technical and sensorial problems in the product, making them difficult to cut and more prone to oxidation [2,4,7]. Within this scene, gelled emulsion (GE) systems have been revealed as a suitable alternative to create animal fat substitutes that provide and improve stability, textural and oxidative properties or without detriment [6,7,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. A GE is a colloidal material in which oil in water emulsions (O/W) coexists within a gel network with mechanical properties similar to a viscoelastic solid [12,13].…”

Roles of Proteins/Enzymes from Animal Sources in Food Quality and Function

“…In sodium-reduced chicken breast myofibrillar protein gel, high pressure processing and calcium have been used to increase the water holding capacity [ 74 ]. Moreover, in emulsified meat products such as sausages, phosphate elimination affected the gelling characteristics of the products, and egg or pea addition remediated the quality loss [ 75 ]. More importantly, two transglutaminase enzymes were used in the restructured beef steaks to create covalent linking between meat proteins and improve the quality [ 76 ].…”

New Strategies for Innovative and Enhanced Meat and Meat Products

“…Although not harmful for healthy people, EFSA found that the exposure was higher than the acceptable daily intake for some population groups [ 8 ]. Goemaere et al [ 10 ] studied the use of seven protein-based ingredients as phosphate replacers in emulsified meat products. The authors found that blood plasma and soy were superior in phosphate-free cooked sausages compared with sausages containing phosphates, in terms of texture, cooking yield, and stability.…”