TITLE:
Quality Characteristics of Gamma Irradiated Beefburger Formulated with Partial Replacement of Beef Fat with Olive Oil and Wheat Bran Fibers
AUTHORS:
Karema A. Mahmoud, Hesham M. Badr
KEYWORDS:
Irradiation, Beefburger, Low-Fat, Microbiological Quality, Olive Oil, Wheat Bran
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.2 No.6,
August
4,
2011
ABSTRACT: Five beefburger formulations were prepared with substituting beef fat with olive oil and levels of wheat bran and irradiated at doses of 0 and 3 kGy, then samples were refrigerated stored and their quality characteristics were investigated. The results indicated that replacement of beef fat with olive oil and ascending levels of wheat bran in burger batter significantly decreased their contents of total lipids and saturated fatty acids, while increased their contents of dietary fibers, unsaturated fatty acids and the ratios of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids to the saturated ones. Moreover, significant improvements were observed in the cooking yield and moisture and fat retention of samples, proportionally to the added wheat bran, and both raw and cooked burger samples showed a high sensory acceptability. Irradiation of samples effectively inactivated Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and enterobacteriaceae and significantly reduced the counts of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria as well as molds and yeasts without any adverse effects on the quality characteristics of samples. Thus, reducing beef fat levels with the addition of olive oil and wheat bran produced a highly acceptable beefburger products with improved nutritional content as well as improved cooking and binding properties, while irradiation improved their microbiological quality.