Replacement of meat by mycoproteins in cooked sausages: Effects on oxidative stability, texture, and color

Processed meat is one of the most consumed products worldwide. Naturally, production of proteins with animal origins includes limitations such as costs, energy, time, and environmental problems. Thus, replacement of meats by alternative biomaterials such as mycoproteins can be promising. Mycoproteins with hyphal morphologies, including branches and lengths, have close structures to meat and can be a potential alternative for meat products. Therefore, the major objectives of this study included complete replacement of sausage meats by mycoproteins and comparing characteristics of the novel formula with those of meat. In general, physicochemical, microbial, nutritional, and mechanical characteristics of the formulas were assessed. Results showed that the mycoprotein substitution improved the nutritional and health effects due to the higher valuable protein and lower lipid contents. Besides, it had a high content of essential amino acid and unsaturated fatty acid, compared to meat sausage. Absence of yeasts, molds, Salmonella spp., Eshrichia (E.) coli, and Staphiloccocus (S.) aureus verified the effectiveness of the heat treatment and also the effectiveness of the hygienic procedures in both samples. With regard to phycicochemical properties, more contents of moisture and lipids in sausages containing mycoprotein were linked to further water binding capacity (WBC) (P < 0.05) and oil binding capacity (OBC) in them, compared to beef samples. Besides, the mycoprotein sample had lower (P < 0.05) values of carbohydrates, ash, and pH, compared to the beef sample. In contrast, beef sausages had better textural characteristics, such as hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and springiness indexes, compared to mycoprotein sausages. Higher water and OBC values of the mycoproteins led to the filling of the protein interstitial spaces as well as decreasing of the textural attributes. Thus, it resulted in the use of less oil and water in mycoprotein formulations. In conclusion, mycoproteins can be addressed as appropriate replacements for meats in sausages.