Novel lipid materials based on gelling procedures as fat analogues in the development of healthier meat products

Society today is calling for optimized lipid content in meat products in line with health recommendations and nutritional guidelines. The meat product reformulation strategies offering the biggest advantages in improving lipid content are based on replacing animal fat with lipid materials featuring solid-fat characteristics that are created using gelling procedures containing vegetable and/or marine oils. From among different gelling lipid materials, special attention is being paid to emulsion gels (EGs) and oil bulking agents (OBAs) owing to their composition and technological advantages in the development of healthier meat products. Both gelling lipid materials can be effectively used as fat analogues in different healthier meat products. The properties of these products reformulated with EGs and OBAs are not adversely affected.