QUALITY AND STORAGE STABILITY OF CHICKEN MEAT PATTIES INCORPORATED WITH LINSEED OIL

ABSTRACT

Low‐fat (<10% total fat) chicken meat patties (CMP) with different levels of linseed oil (LO) i.e., 0, 2, 3 and 4% (control, T₁, T₂ and T₃) were evaluated for their nutritive, processing, textural and storage qualities. The cooking yield, fat and moisture retention were comparable in control and LO‐treated products. The dimensional parameters were better maintained for T₂ among the LO treatments_. The sensory panelists rated T₂ as the best among treatments with comparable sensory attributes to control patties. The selected 3% level of LO was compared with the control for color, texture and fatty acid profile. The lightness (L*) and redness (a*) values were significantly (P < 0.05) less, whereas yellowness (b*) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for the developed CMP than the control. The chewiness value was higher in control, whereas firmness and springiness were comparable in both the products. The total saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased, whereas α‐linolenic acid increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the developed CMP. The ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and SFAs was increased, whereas n‐6/n‐3 decreased in developed CMP. CMP with 3% LO remained physicochemically and microbiologically stable with some deterioration in sensory attributes during aerobic refrigerated (4 ± 1C) storage of 25 days.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

LO is a rich source of omega‐3 fatty acid and is used in the feed of the meat animals for nutritionally better quality meat, which requires long period of rearing and is costly. However, the direct incorporation of LO in the processed meat products poses various technological problems. Therefore, the efficacy of LO as a partial substitute of vegetable oil in the low‐fat omega‐3‐enriched meat products was assessed. The developed processing technology can be commercially exploited for the development of functional/health‐oriented meat products with low fat and low energy, rich in omega‐3 fatty acid, and balanced in PUFA and SFA ratio.