The worldwide cocoa bean shell (CBS) generation is estimated at around 900,000 tons. In their composition, this coproduct showed several bioactive compounds like methylxanthines or polyphenolic compounds. Thus, the aim of this work was to investigate the effects of different particle sizes on the chemical composition, physico-chemical, bioactive compounds content, and antioxidant properties of flours obtained from cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) bean shells. The flours obtained from CBS with different particle sizes had high content of dietary fiber (61.18–65.58 g/100 g). The polyphenolic profile identified seven compounds being epicatechin and catechin (values ranged 4.56–6.33 and 2.11–4.56 mg/g, respectively) as the most abundant compounds. Additionally, the methylxanthines theobromine and caffeine were quantified with values ranging from 7.12 to 12.77 and 4.02 to 6.13 mg/g, respectively. For the fatty acid profile, the principal compounds identified were oleic, stearic and palmitic acids. CBS had antioxidant capacity with all methods assayed. For DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays values ranged between 2.35–5.53, 3.39–11.55, and 3.84–7.62 mg Trolox equivalents/g sample, respectively. This study suggests that cocoa bean shells may constitute a valuable coproduct for the food industry due to its high content in valuable bioactive compounds.

Vegetable soups and creams have gained popularity among consumers worldwide due to the wide variety of raw materials (vegetable fruits, tubers, bulbs, leafy vegetables, and legumes) that can be used in their formulation which has been recognized as a healthy source of nutrients (mainly proteins, dietary fiber, other carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals) and bioactive compounds that could help maintain the body’s health and wellbeing. In addition, they are cheap and easy to preserve and prepare at home, ready to eat, so in consequence they are very useful in the modern life rhythms that modify the habits of current consumption and that reclaim foods elaborated with natural ingredients, ecologic, vegans, less invasive production processes, agroindustry coproducts valorization, and exploring new flavors and textures. This review focuses on the nutritional and healthy properties of vegetable soups and creams (depending on the raw materials used in their production) highlighting their content in bioactive compounds and their antioxidant properties. Apart from the effect that some processing steps could have on these compounds, innovation trends for the development of healthier soups and creams adapted to specific consumer requirements have also been explored.

Chia and quinoa have gained popularity among consumers worldwide due to the wide variety of nutrients but also to the bioactive compounds that they contain. Lately, their processing has generated different coproducts (non-commercial grains, flour, partially deoiled flour, rich-fiber fraction, and oil, among others), which could be reincorporated to the food chain with important technological properties, antioxidant activity included. Both sets of ingredients have been revealed a great technological potential for meat product development and innovation, taking into account that oxidation is one of the main reactions responsible for their deterioration and shelf life reduction. This review focuses on the antioxidant compounds of chia and quinoa coproducts and on the strategies used to add them to meat products highlighting their effect on the lipid oxidation control. Apart from the different ways in which quinoa and chia can be incorporated into meat products and their antioxidant properties, innovative approaches for increasing this antioxidant effect and counteracting any negative alterations they may cause will be discussed.

In the present day, it has been widely established that a high intake of animal fat that contains a high content of saturated fatty acids may cause several life-threatening diseases, including obesity, diabetes-type 2, cardiovascular diseases, as well as several types of cancer. In this context, a great number of health organizations and government agencies have launched campaigns to reduce the saturated fat content in foods, which has prompted the food industry, which is no stranger to this problem, to start working to develop foods with a lower fat content or with a different fatty acid profile. Nevertheless, this is not an easy task due to the fact that saturated fat plays a very important role in food processing and in the sensorial perception of foods. Actually, the best way to replace saturated fat is with the use of structured vegetable or marine oils. The main strategies for structuring oils include pre-emulsification, microencapsulation, the development of gelled emulsions, and the development of oleogels. This review will examine the current literature on the different (i) healthier oils and (ii) strategies that will be potentially used by the food industry to reduce or replace the fat content in several food products.

A gelled emulsion (GE) prepared with hemp oil and buckwheat flour was used to replace pork back fat in frankfurters. Five different formulations were prepared: control (with 35% pork back fat—SC), and the following four to achieve 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% pork back fat substitution by GE (S1, S2, S3, and S4, respectively). Nutritional, technological, and sensorial characteristics of frankfurters were evaluated. Sausages containing GE presented a lower total fat content with a higher amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, increased omega 3 content, and reduced saturated fat by up to 55%. The incorporation of GE did not significantly modify technological properties such as emulsion stability or lipid oxidation in spite of using vegetable oils highly susceptible to oxidation. The reformulation of the frankfurters presented a greater effect on the texture and sensory properties when GE was used as total substitution for the pork back fat (S4). When GE was used only as partial substitution for the pork back fat, sausages similar to control frankfurter were obtained. So this study demonstrated that the use of GE could be a promising strategy in the reformulation of healthier meat products.

It is now widely demonstrated that excessive salt consumption can cause various health problems, and meat products are among the foods most consumed with a high salt content. For that, the aim of this work was to assess the effects of the utilization of flours obtained from oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), and portobello mushrooms (Agaricus brunnescen) as salt replacers on chemical, physicochemical, and sensory properties of beef burgers. The fat and protein content was not affected by the inclusion of mushroom flour, while the sodium content was reduced by 55–61% compared to the control sample. The control sample had the lowest values for cooking loss and shrinkage (12.29 and 18.69%, respectively) whilst the reformulated samples had higher values ranging between 16.08 and 18.88% for cooking loss, respectively, and between 19.55 and 28.25% for shrinkage, respectively. The reformulated samples showed higher lipid oxidation values (ranging from 0.18 and 0.20 mg malondialdehyde/kg sample) than the control sample. Sensorially, all parameters analyzed were not affected by the replacement of sodium chloride by the different mushroom flours. The use of flours obtained from different mushroom flours is a viable alternative to be used as sodium chloride replacers in the preparation of beef burgers.