Potential use of organogels to replace animal fat in comminuted meat products

The replacement of beef fat (BF) with regular or structured canola oil [organogel produced with ethylcellulose (EC) 0.0%, 1.5% or 3.0% sorbitan monostearate (SMS)] was conducted in frankfurters. Substitution with regular oil doubled the hardness of the frankfurters relative to BF. Using an organogel prepared with 8% EC and 1.5 or 3.0% SMS resulted in a hardness value similar to that of BF, by both sensory and texture profile analysis. Without SMS addition, sensory results showed (P<0.05) lower hardness values than regular oil but still higher than BF. Gels prepared using higher EC concentrations (12 and 14%) yielded meat products with a higher sensory hardness than BF (P<0.05). Liquid oil based frankfurters had very small fat globules compared to BF, but structuring the oil yielded larger fat globules. Color measurements indicated that oil-containing frankfurters were lighter than the ones with BF. Smokehouse yields were generally higher for canola oil and organogel containing treatments compared to the beef fat treatment. When SMS was included, fat losses increased over the canola oil treatment. The results demonstrate the possibility to use organogels to replace beef fat and depending on the formulation to manipulate textural properties to resemble traditional products but with lower saturated fat content.