Low-fat sodium-reduced sausages: Effect of the interaction between locust bean gum, potato starch and j-carrageenan by a mixture design approach Elizabeth Garcı ´a-Garcı ´a, Alfonso Totosaus * Food Science Lab, Tecnolo ´ gico de Estudios Superiores de Ecatepec, Av. Tecnolo ´ gico s/n, 55210 Ecatepec, Estado de Me ´xico, Mexico Received 12 April 2007; received in revised form 2 July 2007; accepted 3 July 2007 Abstract A mixture design approach was used to evaluate interactions between potato starch, locust bean gum and j-carrageenan and their effect on cooking yield, expressible moisture, texture and color in low-fat sodium-reduced sausages formulated with potassium and cal- cium chloride. Starch had a notable influence on cooking yield and texture, increasing product hardness and resilience as starch propor- tion increased. The added salt did not allow complete starch granule gelatinization and swelling, which negatively affected water retention, cohesiveness and lightness. Locust bean gum and j-carrageenan improved cooking yield and reduced expressible moisture in formulations containing higher proportions of potato starch. The presence of other ions could have enhanced j-carrageenan function- ality and its synergistic interaction with locust bean gum, improving texture and water retention, with only minor effects on sausage color. At the lower tested proportions starch can be used as an extender in low-fat cooked meat products if j-carrageenan and locust bean gum are included in similar proportions. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mixture design; Hydrocolloids; Low-fat; Sodium-reduced; Sausages 1. Introduction The high intake of red meat, processed meat, fast food, refined grains and sugars characteristic of the Western diet is associated with a risk of coronary heart disease (Hu et al., 2000), as is the intake of saturated and monounsat- urated fatty acids (Xu et al., 2002). In response, public health authorities in most developed countries now recom- mend that daily salt intake be reduced by about half (i.e., from 10 g to 5 g) since salt plays a prominent role in regulating blood pressure (He & MacGregor, 2002). Cur- rent dietary sodium levels are clearly too high, whereas potassium, calcium and magnesium intake is low compared to levels in diets composed mainly of unprocessed natural foods (Karppanen & Mervaala, 2006). Processed meat products contain relatively high amounts of saturated fats and sodium, and production of healthier animal protein foods requires that these two elements by reduced. Direct reduction of fats and sodium can lead to technological difficulties, making these reductions a serious technological issue in the meat industry. Fat is important to the palatability of products such as sausage. It also serves as the discontinuous phase of sausage emulsions and is there- fore a major structural component that can affect tenderness and juiciness in cooked sausages (Kramlich, 1971). Conse- quently, when fat is reduced in meat products they tend to become tough, dry and rubbery, and do not effectively bind water (Pearson & Gillett, 1999). A gel-forming agent can be added to enhance water binding and heat stability in cooked sausages by retaining any added water (Ruusunen & Puol- anne, 2005). Carbohydrates such as starches and hydrocol- loids are currently added to meat products to improve cooking yields, increase moisture retention and modify 0309-1740/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2007.07.003 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +52 55 5000 2227. E-mail address: alfonso.totosaus@excite.com (A. Totosaus). www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Meat Science 78 (2008) 406–413 MEAT SCIENCE