Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

 Background. Meat processing involves the use of saturated fatty acids that are characteristic of animal fats, but their repeated consumption is associated with various adverse health effects. The present research inves­tigates the effects of the complete substitution of pork backfat with sunflower oil as a source of unsaturated fatty acids in meat processing on texture, rheology and fat loss.
Materials and methods. The impact of the replacement on meat batters and meat pastes was analyzed in terms of texture, rheology and fat loss. Finished products were analyzed both uncooked and after having been prepared for consumption (cooked for 5 minutes) with and without casings. Two experimental prototypes were designed and produced: Vienna sausages with 100% refined sunflower oil as a fat source and conven­tional Vienna sausages with 100% pork backfat as a fat source.
Results. Texture analysis revealed no significant differences in hardness, cohesiveness, and gumminess be­tween conventional and reformulated meat batters. However, after thermal treatments, meat pastes obtained with pork backfat exhibited higher hardness values (32.17 N and 35.67 N) than those processed with sun­flower oil (10.93 N and 14.09 N). Fat loss assessments indicated optimal fat retention in sunflower oil-based samples, particularly in cooked sausages (5.77%), suggesting better stability during processing and consump­tion than in the conventional cooked sample (11.61%). Rheological analysis demonstrated higher values for viscoelastic properties in pork backfat samples than in those containing sunflower oil; for all samples, no crossover points were observed, as the storage modulus G′ was higher than the loss modulus G″ and both moduli increased with increasing frequency. Concerning the characterization of finished products, for un­cooked sausages with casings, the sausages reformulated with sunflower oil had higher hardness values than conventional ones (53.90 N vs 40.93 N). Despite this difference, both samples prepared for consumption (cooked) without a casing exhibited similar hardness values (7.81 N and 7.43 N).
Conclusion. From the point of view of physical and structural characterization, the replacement of pork backfat (saturated fat) with sunflower oil can preserve the properties of meat batters and cooked products. Ad­ditionally, there is the advantage of using the current production process and the potential to obtain healthier, more nutritious meat products due to the lipid profile of vegetable oil.