Nutritional composition in the chia seed and its processing properties on restructured ham-like products

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Meat Technology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Low-fat meat products often suffer from undesirable textural and sensory properties.
• Chia seeds (CHIA) possess beneficial physicochemical properties like high water and organic molecule absorption.
• CHIA is rich in nutrients including alpha-linolenic acid, polysaccharides, amino acids, minerals, and polyphenols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the nutritional composition of chia seeds.
• To investigate the application of chia seeds in restructured ham-like meat products.
• To evaluate the impact of chia seeds on the quality and properties of low-fat meat products.

Main Methods:

• Nutritional analysis of chia seeds.
• Formulation of restructured ham-like products with chia seeds and carrageenan.
• Evaluation of processing yield, emulsification properties via scanning electron microscopy, and sensory acceptance.
• Assessment of storage stability, including purge, centrifugation losses, hardness, lipid, and protein oxidation.

Main Results:

• Chia seeds (CHIA) combined with carrageenan (CA) significantly increased production yield.
• CHIA and CA addition improved emulsification, reduced purge and centrifugation losses, and maintained product hardness.
• Sensory evaluation indicated that products with 0.5% CA and 1.0% CHIA achieved similar overall acceptance to full-fat products.
• CHIA addition, particularly at 1.0%, effectively lowered lipid and protein oxidation during storage.

Conclusions:

• Chia seeds offer nutritional benefits and enhance the physicochemical and sensory attributes of restructured meat products.
• The combination of CHIA and carrageenan shows promise for developing healthier, high-quality low-fat meat products.
• Chia seeds represent a valuable ingredient for improving the quality and consumer acceptance of meat alternatives.