Healthy Spanish salchichón enriched with encapsulated n-3 long chain fatty acids in konjac glucomannan matrix

Reduction of fat content and improving fatty acid composition were the strategies used to reformulate Spanish salchichón with better lipid content by partial substitution of pork backfat by microencapsulated fish oil in konjac glucomannan matrix. For the present study, four different batches were manufactured: control (CO) with 100% of pork backfat and ME25, ME50 and ME75 where the pork backfat was replaced with 25, 50 and 75% by microencapsulated fish oil, respectively. The fat replacement by microencapsulated fish oil was accompanied by a decrease (P<0.05) in lightness and redness. On the other hand, the incorporation of microencapsulated fish oil increased (P<0.001) hardness, gumminess and chewiness, but did not influence springiness and cohesiveness. The incorporation of microencapsulated fish oil in konjac gel significantly (P>0.001) decreased the fat content (30.4%) as compared with the CO group. The total amount of PUFA in the modified sausages increased by 2.3% compared to the control batches. Finally, the reformulation process showed a significant (P<0.05) increase in the lipid oxidation (TBARs values and aldehydes content) related to the greater susceptibility to lipid oxidation of unsaturated (particularly EPA and DHA) fatty acids. To conclude, it is technologically feasible to develop Spanish salchichón enriched with microencapsulated n-3 fatty acids from fish oil.