Development of value-added goat meat spread fortified with nano calcium

Food-grade calcium carbonate nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple top-down ball-milling approach that produced a 90% yield in 3 h. Dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) were employed to characterize the nanoparticles. The size of nano-calcium carbonate was 17.4-38.8 nm and observed zeta potential of - 33.1 mV revealed good colloidal stability. The cytotoxicity study was performed using the African monkey kidney cell line (Vero) after 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation. The t-test of cell viability revealed highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) differences between nano and micro-calcium carbonate across concentrations at 24, 48, and 72 h intervals. After analyzing the nanoparticles, goat meat spread was treated with three levels of nano calcium carbonate (0.75, 1.5 and 2.25 g). As the concentration increased, the pH increased non-significantly, and resulted in a highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) increase in its lightness (L*). The addition of nano calcium carbonate negatively affected sensory scores at higher concentration. An in vitro digestion study showed that soluble calcium was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater in the treatment involving nano calcium carbonate than in the control and micro calcium carbonate. Overall, the study demonstrates improved calcium solubility and bioavailability, supporting the potential of nano-calcium carbonate as a functional calcium delivery ingredient in meat-based products.