J Food Process Preserv. 2019;00:e14016. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpp | 1 of 11 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.14016 © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1 | INTRODUCTION The accelerated changes in the world meat market seeks to deliver new “healthy” meat (Pogorzelska‐Nowicka, Atanasov, Horbańczuk, & Wierzbicka, 2018) and “healthier” products preserved with natural alternatives that ensure quality. Some strategies used in the meat industry include reformulation of meat products with functional in‐ gredients that provide beneficial effects for human health (Beriain, Gómez, Ibáñez, Sarriés, & Ordóñez, 2018). Decreasing saturated fatty acid content, lowering cholesterol, and adding natural antiox‐ idant products could be an example of such strategies (Afshari et al., 2015; Afshari, Hosseini, Khaneghah, & Khaksar, 2017). The replace‐ ment of animal fat with vegetable fat helps to increase the profile of unsaturated fatty acids in meat products and to enrich them with antioxidants in order to meet new consumer preference patterns. Changes to the diet can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease or modulate specific physiological functions, therefore, promoting con‐ sumer health. The total recommended daily energy intake in the form of fat is between 25% and 30% (EFSA, 2010) and a reduction of up to 10% in energy intake in the form of saturated fatty acids, even al‐ lowing the body to fulfill its essential metabolic function and reduce the development of coronary diseases (Micha & Mozaffarian, 2010). Received: 5 September 2018 | Revised: 18 March 2019 | Accepted: 30 April 2019 DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.14016 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Frankfurters formulated with pecan nut paste and oregano essential oil as functional components: Proximate composition, lipid oxidation, and fatty acid profile Daniela Orozco 1 | Alma Delia Alarcon‐Rojo 1 | Celia Chavez‐Mendoza 2 | Lorena Luna 1 | Luis Carrillo‐Lopez 1 | Oswaldo Ronquillo 3 1 Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico 2 Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo A. C. Unidad Delicias, Delicias, Mexico 3 Sitio Experimental La Campana, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Aldama, Mexico Correspondence Alma Delia Alarcon‐Rojo, Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Periférico Francisco R. Almada. km 1. Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. Email: aalarcon@uach.mx Funding information Fundación Produce Chihuahua, Mexico, Grant/Award Number: 00506 to INIFAP Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the quality of frankfurter sausages containing pecan nut paste (PN) and Mexican oregano essential oil (MO) of two varieties (Poliomintha longi‐ flora Gray, MOP; and Lippia berlandieri, MOL). Frankfurters were processed under six treatments: control, MOP (control + 100 ppm MOP), MOL (control + 100 ppm MOL), MOP–N (MOP treatment + 6% PN), MOL–N (MOL treatment + 6% PN), and C–N (con‐ trol + 6% PN). PN and MO did not influence ( p > 0.05) the proximate composition of sausages; lipid oxidation increased in treatments containing EO and PN after 7 days of storage. PN did not alter the content of MUFAs and PUFAs, however MO decreased the MUFAs. MOL–N and C–N showed the highest UFA/SFA ratio. It was concluded that the combination of PN with MOL or control formula could be a good strategy for increasing the ratio of UFA/SFA without compromising on frankfurter quality. Practical applications Pecan nut paste and oregano essential oil can be used to enhance functionality of frankfurters without altering the proximal composition of the product. The combi‐ nation of oregano (L. berlandieri ) essential oil and pecan nut paste is a strategy for reducing the unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio of the traditional emulsified meat products. These findings may be useful for the production of emulsified cooked sau‐ sages with healthier characteristics and offer an opportunity for the meat industry to improve its image and bring benefits to the society.