Page 38 - FoodFocusThailand No.216 MARCH 2024

SPECIAL
SPECIAL FOCUS FOCUS

Guidelines for Incorporating

Fat Substitutes

in the Development of

Healthier Meat Products

Recently, there has been a concerning trend regarding the adverse health effects of high-fat foods, which
can contribute to conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and certain types of cancer. To address this,
the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends reducing the consumption of foods high in fats and
cholesterol to mitigate the risk of such diseases. WHO suggests that in a single meal, consumers should
not exceed obtaining more than 30% of their daily energy from fats. Unfortunately, many processed animal
products, including sausages, meatballs, patties, and Isaan sausages, fall into the category of high-fat
foods, often containing as much as 20-30% fat. Consequently, consumers who regularly consume these
foods may derive a significant proportion of their energy from fat, possibly accounting for 50-75% of the
total energy content of the products.

Types of Fat Replacers in Animal Product Development Microcrystaslline Cellulose Gel: A Fat
Fat is an essential component for processing animal products as it Substitute in Low-Fat Meat Products
enhances the palatability, tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and prevents The challenge in developing low-fat meat products
the meat from shrinking during cooking, as well as preventing the lies in reducing the fat content to the lowest possible
product from becoming dry and tough. To reduce fat content in animal level while maintaining the original formula in terms
products, one strategy involves incorporating fat replacers into recipes. of taste, flavor, color, and texture. Microcrystalline
These substitutes maintain product quality while facilitating the cellulose gel is considered an intriguing fat substitute
creation of new product categories, such as low-fat or reduced-fat due to its structure of short cellulose chains, which
options. The development of such products not only increases market result from the chemical depolymerization of long
competitiveness in niche markets but also fuels business growth. polymer chains of glucose, enhancing purity. As a
Popular fat replacers used in animal products include: versatile food additive, it can serve as a fat substitute
1. Proteins such as gelatin, collagen, and plasma from animal in various food products, including low-fat meat
blood options. Research utilizing microcrystalline cellulose
2. Polysaccharides, especially hydrocolloids such as carrageenan, gel to reduce fat content in emulsified sausage
alginate, xanthan gum, gellan gum, locust bean gum, and tara gum products revealed that it could replace fat by up to
3. Starches such as potato starch, tapioca starch, waxy maize 10% when prepared in gel form. The reduced-fat
starch, and oat starch products would contain only 129 kilocalories per 100
4. Complex starches such as oat fiber, wheat fiber, pea fiber, grams, with a fat content of 1.8 grams, equivalent to
and konjac flour approximately 12.6% of the total energy. In contrast,
5. Other sources include maltodextrin, pectin, microcrystalline the regular formula (control group) would provide
cellulose, and carboxymethyl cellulose 200 kilocalories per 100 grams, with a fat content of

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