Use of bacterial cellulose as a fat replacer in emulsified meat products: review

Abstract

Emulsified meat products have a high fat content. The industry has been looking for strategies to replace fat with healthier products in order to meet consumer demands. This review aims to present studies on the use of BC as a substitute in emulsified meat products. In these studies, BC proved to be a potential fat replacer, as it maintained the same technological and sensory properties found in products with original fat content.

Effect of the addition of bacterial cellulose on the texture and color properties of sausages obtained from mechanically separated meat from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.)

“…In this case, it was found that, regardless of the fat concentration, the best results for adhesiveness are obtained with 2.34% BC, which represents tests 1 and 2. For Oliveira et al (2021), and according to Leonard et al (2019), the use of dietary fiber can influence the adhesiveness of the analyzed product. A study by Younis et al (2022) also highlighted this fact when using fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a dietary fiber, in meat products.…”

“…The aforementioned meat products are the main foods that contribute to the intake of saturated fats, which in turn are related to cardiovascular diseases. Hence these products are unhealthy (Oliveira et al, 2021;Öztürk-Kerimoglu et al, 2022;Ferro et al, 2021). To minimize these negative effects, several studies have been carried out aimed to reduce or replace some components used in the formulation of these products, such as, for example, fat reduction (Ferro et al, 2021), making them healthier (Sariçoban & Unal, 2022).…”

“…One of the main challenges for the industry in replacing and reducing fat is maintaining the flavor, texture, juiciness and appearance of emulsified meat products (Ferro et al, 2021;Pietrasik & Soladoye, 2021;Oliveira et al, 2021). An alternative method for improving the technological and functional characteristics in the reformulation of new low-fat products is the use of replacers (Auriema et al, 2021).…”

“…Bacterial cellulose (BC), also known as "nata" or "nata-decoco", is a gelatinous cellulosic film produced by bacteria, and the genus Komagataeibacter xylinus is the most efficient. Although BC has the same chemical structure as vegetable cellulose, it has different physicochemical properties, such as high water retention capacity, high tensile strength and greater purity, due to the absence of hemicellulose and lignin (Oliveira et al, 2021;Pereira et al, 2020). BC has been widely studied as a food ingredient and has the potential to be used as a fat replacer (Oliveira et al, 2021).…”

Cost-Effective Synthesis of Bacterial Cellulose and Its Applications in the Food and Environmental Sectors

“…BC is used for the synthesis of vegetarian meat, which is well-known as an analog for natural meat [ 129 , 130 ]. BC, in alliance with Monascus extract (which is obtained from a naturally occurring pigmented mould, Monascus purpureus ), has been used for the preparation of non-animal meat.…”