Oleogels for the development of healthy meat products: A review

The processed meat product industry is showing a full bloom and is witnessing an increasing trend in consumption due to worldwide popularity of these products. However, a high content of detrimental saturated and trans-fats are present in them, exposing the consumer to several health risks. Increased demand of safe and high-quality meat products by the health-conscious consumer poses a new challenge to researchers and manufacturers related to meat sector to produce low fat and healthy processed meat products. Therefore, proper strategies are needed for the reduction or replacement of these solid fats by an oil/fat with healthier fatty acid profile while reformulating processed meat products. Among several approaches directed to replaced /reduce trans-fats and saturated fats in processed meat products, oleogels made from plant or fish oils are said to be an unique structured fat system used in industrial applications because of their nutritional and the environmental advantages. Development of various healthy meat products like sausages, patties, burgers etc by replacing their native fat rich in saturated fatty acid (SFA) and trans-fatty acid (TFA) with the healthier oleogels rich in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) have been reviewed in this article.