Meat products are known for their lipid profile rich in saturated fats and cholesterol, and also for the formation of oxidation compounds; therefore, a reduction in animal fat may result in a product less harmful to health. Pijuayo is an Amazon fruit known for its nutritional properties, such as its fiber and lipid content. For these reasons, it is an attractive fruit to replace animal fat in meat products. The present work used pijuayo pulp and peel flours to partially replace animal fat in beef-based burgers at 25% and 50% levels, considering sensory and physicochemical outcomes evaluated by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Correspondence Analysis (CA) and Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA). Pijuayo flour affected the physicochemical characteristics evaluated by PCA, where the samples with greater fat replacement were characterized by a high carbohydrate content and instrumental yellowness. The minimal fat replacement did not abruptly affect the PCA’s instrumental texture and color, proximal composition, yield properties, and lipid oxidation. The overall liking was greater in the 25% fat reduction treatments, even greater than the control, in which positive sensory attributes for liking were highlighted for those treatments. A small segment of consumers (11% of total consumers) preferred the treatment with greater replacement of fat with pijuayo peel flour, which these consumers tended to characterize as seasoned. However, this treatment had the lowest liking. The MFA showed that the sensory characteristics tender and tasty were strongly correlated with overall liking and were highlighted in the samples of 25% fat reduction, suggesting that the pijuayo improves the tenderness and flavor of reduced-fat burgers. Other inclusion levels between 25% and 50% of fat replacement could be explored, and optimization studies are needed. In addition, the sensory characteristics and flavor-enhancing compounds of the fruit, as well as the nutritional aspects of the inclusion of pijuayo, should be studied, such as the fatty acid profile. These characteristics will be informative to explore pijuayo as a fat replacer at a pilot scale and industrial scale.

The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have proven health benefits, but it is not common to find them together in a processed food product. This could lead to healthier and more functional food products, which may have positive implications for consumer health and well-being. This work aimed to fortify a model burger manufactured with fillets of an Amazonian fish (boquichico, Prochilodus nigricans) by adding microencapsulated sacha inchi oil (Plukenetia volubilis, rich in ALA) (MSIO) produced by spray-drying. MSIO was incorporated into the burgers at different levels (0, 3, 4, 5, and 6%). The burgers were characterized by their proximal composition, cooking losses, texture profile, lipid oxidation, sensory profile, overall liking, and fatty acid profile. The results showed that adding MSIO up to concentrations of 5% or 6% increased the instrumental hardness, chewiness, and lipid oxidation in the burgers. However, fortifying the burgers with 3% MSIO was possible without affecting the burgers’ sensory properties and overall liking. Regarding the fatty acid profile, the burgers with 3% MSIO had a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, with the ALA, EPA, and DHA types of fatty acids. Therefore, we recommend using this fortification concentration, but future studies should be carried out to improve the oxidative stability of MSIO and the burgers.

En Iquitos (Perú), la carne de Cuniculus paca, Pecari tajacu, Tayassu pecari y Chelonoidis denticulatus se consumen en gran cantidad, sin embargo, no hay un análisis bromatológico completo ni estudios actualizados de la carga bacteriana y presencia de coronavirus. Nuestro objetivo fue conocer el consumo y el estado microbiológico y bromatológico de la carne silvestre durante la pandemia de la COVID-19. Se realizaron entrevistas virtuales a 213 personas entre mayo y junio de 2020 en Iquitos; por cada especie se utilizaron cuatro muestras de carne de 500 g para el análisis bacteriológico y bromatológico, y una muestra de 500 g por especie para la búsqueda de coronavirus provenientes de los mercados Belén y Modelo. Encontramos que la carne silvestre representa el 4 % de fuente proteica, su consumo es independiente a factores educativos y económicos, a la mayoría les gusta esta carne y creen que su consumo no contagia de coronavirus. Esta carne no tuvo coronavirus y presentó menos carga bacteriana que otros productos de mayor consumo en los mercados estudiados. Asimismo, tuvo bajo contenido graso, baja proporción de fósforo/proteína, alto contenido de riboflavina y calcio. Es decir, esta carne durante la pandemia fue saludable y nutritiva.

This study aimed to formulate burgers made from three Amazonian fish species: pacu (Pyaractus brachypomus), boquichico (Prochilodus nigricans), and bujurqui (Chaetobranchus flavescens), focusing on sodium reduction and fortification with fish oil microparticles (FOM) rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The proximal composition, sodium and calcium content, instrumental texture profile, fatty acid profile, sensory profile, and overall liking were evaluated. Differences in proximal composition and fatty acid profiles between the fillets were reflected in the burgers. Fortification with FOM increased EPA and DHA in the burgers; thus, they can be considered “high in omega-3 fatty acids” and reduced the n-6/n-3 ratio below 4. There were sensory attributes that could be related to lipid oxidation but reduced overall liking for less than 10% of consumers. Nevertheless, certain sensory attributes (grilled, characteristic, aromatic, tasty, tender, and juicy) had a positive impact on the overall liking of more than 20% of consumers, yielding adequate scores (between 5.60 and 5.71) on the 9-point hedonic scale. The production process must be optimized by knowing the fish fillet quality in depth, improving the FOM and burgers’ oxidative stability, and achieving an adequate sensory and hedonic profile by employing consumers’ vocabulary to characterize new products.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of reduction of salt content (from 1.5 to 0.75%), the technique of mixing half of the salt content with animal fat, and the salt particle size on the instrumental texture, cooking losses, diameter reduction, overall liking, and sensory characteristics of burgers. The results showed that regardless of the types of micronized salt (MS < 250 µm) incorporation (directly into the meat or the mixture of half of the MS with the meat and the other half with the fat), salt reduction decreased the salty perception and the instrumental hardness and chewiness. Thus, the mixture of MS with fat does not present sensory improvements nor overcome the texture effects of salt reduction. In a second experiment, the effect of different particle sizes (from <177 µm to 1 mm) was evaluated, where it was observed that salt with particle size <177 µm decreased the burgers’ hardness, cooking losses, and diameter reduction. The salt particle sizes did not cause sensory changes in the burgers, and in both experiments, the overall liking was greater than 7 points on the 9-point hedonic scale. Salt < 177 µm could be a good option for reducing salt in burgers and possibly in other meat products.

Açai (Euterpe precatoria Mart.) is a fruit with tremendous bioactive potential, but its high perishability necessitates the use of technologies to improve its stability and further enhance its bioactivity, such as microencapsulation by spray drying. Maltodextrin (MD) and gum Arabic (GA) are commonly used encapsulants in spray drying, but their combination for the microencapsulation of açai extract has not been studied. This study aimed to optimize the microencapsulation of açai extract using spray drying, evaluating its effect on the physicochemical and functional properties of the microparticles (MPs). Optimization was performed using response surface methodology with a central composite rotatable design, considering inlet air temperature (IAT) and polymer ratio (GA:MD) as factors. The optimal conditions were 135 °C IAT and a 50:50 GA:MD, under which a process yield of 76.05%, total phenolic compounds of 2791.83 mg GAE/100 g, and hygroscopicity (HYG) of 7.28% were obtained. Solubility (WSI) and total anthocyanin content (TAC) were not optimized due to lack of fit (p < 0.05). The experimental validation showed precise agreement between predicted and experimental values, with relative errors of less than 5%. The MPs presented spherical forms with rough surfaces. The effectiveness of the microencapsulation process demonstrates the potential of açai MPs as possible functional ingredients for future food applications.