DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRITIONALLY-ENHANCED FOODS TO IMPROVE HEALTH

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0223829
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2015
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
886 CHESTNUT RIDGE RD RM 202
MORGANTOWN,WV 26505-2742

Performing Department
Animal & Veterinary Science

Non Technical Summary
It is well known that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) have positive health benefits. Clinical trials have shown that this group of fatty acids reduces cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disorders, autoimmune disorders, Crohn's disease, and certain cancers (Conner, 2000). The American Heart Association recommends that consumption of 2-3 fatty fish meals per week would yield an amount of omega-3 FA that would have beneficial health effects. Fish consumption data suggests that Americans are still not eating the recommended amounts and that children under age 15 are consuming less than half the amount that adults consume (EPA, 2002; NMFS, 2007). Therefore, there is a need to develop foods high in omega-3 fatty acids more appealing to parents and children. Nutraceutical foods are defined as food products that resemble typical foods, but with added health benefits. Standard examples are milk fortified with vitamins A and D, flour enriched with vitamins and minerals, orange juice fortified with calcium or fiber, ice cream or bread fortified with omega-3 FA, soymilk fortified with DHA, infant formula fortified with DHA, and so on. The current market trend is that consumers are more often seeking health-beneficial and wholesome foods for themselves and for their families. The 21st century consumers are fully aware of health benefits associated with omega-3 FA. Similarly to organic foods, the sales of nutraceutical food products have steadily increased over the past decade and it is expected that this trend will continue. The main goal of this research is to develop nutritional foods that are high in omega-3 FA and would appeal to consumers. Development of foods containing higher concentrations of omega-3 FA are of interest because of their role in decreasing the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. The impact of this research could have positive effects on overall nutrition and health of consumers.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
501	3711	1010	10%
502	3270	1010	10%
511	5010	1010	10%
501	3270	1010	10%
502	5010	1010	10%
511	3711	1010	15%
501	5010	1010	15%
502	3711	1010	10%
511	3270	1010	10%

Knowledge Area
511 - New and Improved Non-Food Products and Processes; 501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies; 502 - New and Improved Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
3711 - Trout; 3270 - Eggs; 5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Keywords

nutraceutical

omega-3 fatty acid

functional food

sensory evaluation

product development

Goals / Objectives
It is well known that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) have positive health benefits. Clinical trials have shown that this group of fatty acids reduces cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disorders, autoimmune disorders, Crohn's disease, and certain cancers (Conner, 2000). The American Heart Association recommends that consumption of 2-3 fatty fish meals per week would yield an amount of omega-3 FA that would have beneficial health effects. Fish consumption data suggests that Americans are still not eating the recommended amounts and that children under age 15 are consuming less than half the amount that adults consume (EPA, 2002; NMFS, 2007). Therefore, there is a need to develop foods high in omega-3 fatty acids more appealing to parents and children. Nutraceutical foods are defined as food products that resemble typical foods, but with added health benefits. Standard examples are milk fortified with vitamins A and D, flour enriched with vitamins and minerals, orange juice fortified with calcium or fiber, ice cream or bread fortified with omega-3 FA, soymilk fortified with DHA, infant formula fortified with DHA, and so on. The current market trend is that consumers are more often seeking health-beneficial and wholesome foods for themselves and for their families. The 21st century consumers are fully aware of health benefits associated with omega-3 FA. Similarly to organic foods, the sales of nutraceutical food products have steadily increased over the past decade and it is expected that this trend will continue. This project addresses many of the research goals of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station that support strategies that promote a healthy and well nourished society and enhances competitiveness of agricultural endeavors in the global economy. The main goal of this research is to develop nutritional foods that are high in omega-3 FA and would appeal to consumers. Development of foods containing higher concentrations of omega-3 FA are of interest because of their role in decreasing the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. The impact of this research could have positive effects on overall nutrition and health of consumers.

Project Methods
EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONALLY-ENHANCED EGG PRODUCTS The experimental egg products were formulated to achieve moisture, crude protein, and total fat that would be similar (P > 0.05) to the proximate composition of whole egg. Fresh eggs will be hand separated (fresh eggs may be substituted with egg beaters/pasteurized egg whites) to achieve 430 ml of egg whites. Both egg white types will be mixed in a beaker and stored overnight under refrigeration (4 C) to facilitate rehydration of freeze-dried egg whites. Once the egg whites are rehydrated and dispersed, 50 ml of the specific oil for the given batter (canola, flaxseed, menhaden, algae (DHAS) or a combination of 30 ml flaxseed, 10 ml DHAS and 10 ml krill oil), 750 micro-l Annatto and 5 g of NaCl (table salt) will be added to the egg whites. This batter will be stirred on a stirring plate with a magnetic stir bar to ensure uniform distribution of ingredients. The whole egg control will not include oils or freeze dried egg. Immediately after stirring, the batter will be poured into polycarbonate tubes and placed in a boiling water bath for 10 min, quick cooled in ice, removed from the tubes, vacuumed packed, and stored at 4 C until analyses are conducted. Proximate composition (% moisture, % fat, % protein, % ash) will be confirmed on cooked egg. Changes in pH, color, water loss (syneresis), TBARS will be measured over a two-week storage period. The storage period was based on a targeted retail shelf-life. Samples will be tested on days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 14. Texture profile analysis (TPA) of cooked gels (i.e., experimental egg products, mixed whole egg, or Egg Beaters) will be performed according to Cheret et al. (2005). The gel samples at room temperature will be subjected to two-cycle compression at 50% using the texture analyzer (Model TA-HDi, Texture Technologies Corp., Scarsdale, NY) equipped with a 70-mm TPA compression plate attachment moving at a speed of 127 mm/min. From the resulting force-time curves, hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience will be determined (Chen & Jaczynski, 2007a, 2007b; Taskaya et al., 2009a, 2009b; Taskaya et al., 2010). Proper approvals to conduct sensory tests with human subjects have already been obtained for egg stick evaluation from the West Virginia University Internal Review Board. All other sensory evaluations will have IRB approval prior to their conduct. Panelists will be asked to rate egg attributes (color, odor, flavor, texture between fingers, mouth feel, and overall liking) on a 9-point hedonic scale (where 1 = dislike extremely and 9 = like extremely). Panelists will be given a second set of samples and asked to rank them based on preference. A 5-point scale will be used to rate their likelihood to purchase (1 being definitely would not and 5 being definitely would purchase) a product such as this. The Experiment Station statistician will be consulted on experimental design. Tests on nutritionally-enhanced fish surimi and protein recovery products will follow similar protocols to above.

Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Graduate students and undergraduate students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional development activities included attendance and participation in workshops, conferences, and seminars. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of these studies have been disseminated via presentations at international meetings (i.e. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meetings) and by publications in international high impact peer-review journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research will continue to look at ways to increase the nutritional value and safety of our food supply.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Utilization of aquatic resources has rapidly gained importance. Traditional fish processing does not utilize the majority of the fish, thus generating large quantities of waste that adversely impacts the economy, sustainability and environmental stress. Protein can be extracted from underutilized sources such as silver carp and catfish using a pH shift processing method and be incorporated into the human diet in value-added foods. Therefore, myofibrillar proteins were extracted from ground fish using different alkali solubilization and precipitation strategies. The efficacy of protein separation from lipids, and insoluble such as skin, fins, scales and bones were investigated and compared. Protein and lipid recovery yields were calculated to determine the economic feasibility of the procedure by calculating the amount of material recovered out of the available protein or lipids present in the initial material. Mineral content of the recovered protein was analyzed and compared to the initial fish and Alaska Pollock surimi. The recovered protein was then made into protein gels in order to investigate gelation conditions. Fish muscle protein mainly consisting of myosin and actin cross-link and form a gel network upon heating. Yet, the efficiency of gel setting period that allows for the crosslinking to take place depends on a variety of factors mainly impacted by time and temperature. Protein gel texture and color is also affected by post cooking storage. Therefore, widely applied pre-cooking gelation time and temperature strategies, and post-cooking period on texture and color of final protein gels was investigated. It was found that a more uniform network formation may be achieved when gels are allowed to set at lower temperatures for a longer period of time; however, the prolonged gel setting time followed by post cooking storage decreased whiteness of gels. A gel storage period post cooking improved gel stability. Gelation properties as well as protein amount in the recovered protein gels can be changed by salvaging water soluble sarcoplasmic proteins from fish processing water or solution and incorporating them into myofibrillar protein gels. Therefore, sarcoplasmic proteins of silver carp were solubilized and added back to recovered myofibrillar protein or Alaska Pollock in solution form to investigate the impact on texture and color of protein gels. Sarcoplasmic protein yielded softer, less gummy, chewy, cohesive and resilient (p<0.05) gels compared to gels containing transglutaminase, an exogenous enzyme. In order to investigate the effects of greater amounts of sarcoplasmic proteins in the myofibrillar protein gels, solubilized sarcoplasmic proteins were concentrated, made into a powder using a freeze-dryer and added back into recovered protein gels. Protein gels were developed from catfish myofibrillar protein with or without transglutaminase, functional additives and sarcoplasmic protein powder and differences were seen. A separate study investigating the effects of starch addition at increasing amounts determined that most of the textural attributes such as hardness, gumminess, chewiness, firmness and resistance to deformation were higher (p<0.05) for gels containing starch; however, these attributes did not increase with the increasing starch concentration. Overall, this research demonstrates effective protein recovery strategies When Ca(OH)2 was used as the processing base the recovered protein fraction was enhanced with calcium and sodium was reduced. Protein gels made from calcium enhanced protein will be harder and naturally whiter. Moreover, sarcoplasmic protein recovered using simple solubilization steps from fish and by-products may be used as a nutritional supplement to enhance protein content of food products or can be incorporated into functional food products such as protein gels containing lower amounts of sodium.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Sell C, Beamer S, Jacek Jaczynski J, Matak* KE. 2015. Sensory characteristics and storage quality indicators of surimi franks nutritionally enhanced with omega-3 rich flaxseed oil and salmon oil. International Journal of Food Science and Technology 50:210-217.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Paker I, Beamer S, Jaczynski J, Matak* KE. 2015. pH-shift Protein Recovery with Organic Acids on Texture and Color of Cooked Gels. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 95(2):275280.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Paker, I., Matak, K.* Impact of Sarcoplasmic Protein on Texture and Color of Silver Carp and Alaska Pollock Protein Gels. LWT: Food Science and Technology 63:985-991.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Paker, I., Matak, K.* Influence of Pre-Cooking Protein Paste Gelation Conditions and Post-Cooking Gel Storage Conditions on Gel Texture. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Doi:10.1002/jsfa.7091.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Tahergorabi R, Matak KE, Jaczynski* J. Fish Protein Isolate: Development of Functional Foods with Nutraceutical Ingredients. Journal of Functional Foods 18(1):746-756.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Matak, K, Tahergorabi R, Jaczynski* J. A Review: Protein isolates recovered by isoelectric solubilization/precipitation processing from muscle food by-products in nutraceutical applications. Food Research International. Published online. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.05.048
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ronaghi, M., Beamer, S., Jaczynski, J., and K.E. Matak*. A Comparison of the Bactericidal Effectiveness of Hydrochloric and Acetic Acid on Staphylococcus aureus in Silver Carp during a pH-shift Protein Recovery Process. LWT: Food Science and Technology. In Press.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Paker, I., Jaczynski, J., and K. Matak*. Calcium Hydroxide as a Processing Base in Alkali Aided pH Shift Process. LWT: Food Science and Technology. In Review.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Graduate students and undergraduate students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Professional development activities included attendance and participation in workshops, conferences, and seminars. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results of these studies have been disseminated via presentations at international meetings (i.e. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meetings) and by publications in international high impact peer-review journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Research will continue to look at ways to increase the nutritional value and safety of our food supply.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Although dietary fiber provides health benefits, most Western populations have insufficient intake. Surimi seafood is not currently fortified with dietary fiber, nor have the effects of fiber fortification on physicochemical properties of surimi been thoroughly studied. In the present study, Alaska pollock surimi was fortified with 0-8 g/100 g of long-chain powdered cellulose as a source of dietary fiber. The protein/water concentrations in surimi were kept constant by adding an inert filler, silicon dioxide in inverse concentrations to the fiber fortification. Fiber-fortified surimi gels were set at 90 C. The objectives were to determine (1) textural and colour properties; (2) heat-induced gelation (dynamic rheology); and (3) protein endothermic transitions (differential scanning calorimetry) of surimi formulated with constant protein/water, but variable fiber content. Fiber fortification up to 6 g/100 g improved (P < 0.05) texture and colour although some decline occurred with 8 g/100 g of fiber. Dynamic rheology correlated with texture and showed large increase in gel elasticity, indicating enhanced thermal gelation of surimi. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that fiber fortification did not interfere with thermal transitions of surimi myosin and actin. Long-chain fiber probably traps water physically, which is stabilized by chemical bonding with protein within surimi gel matrix. Based on the present study, it is suggested that the fiber-protein interaction is mediated by water and is physicochemical in nature.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Tahergorabi R, Matak KE, Jaczynski* J. Fish Protein Isolate: Development of Functional Foods with Nutraceutical Ingredients. Journal of Functional Foods. Accepted.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Tesfai A, Beamer SK, Matak KE, Jaczynski* J. 2014. Effect of electron beam on chemical changes of nutrients in infant formula. Food Chemistry 149:208-214.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Debusca A, Tahergorabi R, Beamer SK, Matak KE, Jaczynski* J. 2014. Physicochemical properties of surimi gels fortified with dietary fiber. Food Chemistry 148:70-76.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sell C, Beamer S, Jacek Jaczynski J, Matak* KE. 2014. Sensory characteristics and storage quality indicators of surimi franks nutritionally enhanced with omega-3 rich flaxseed oil and salmon oil. International Journal of Food Science and Technology. Doi:10.1111/ijfs.12621
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Paker I, Beamer S, Jaczynski J, Matak* KE. 2014. pH-shift Protein Recovery with Organic Acids on Texture and Color of Cooked Gels. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Accepted.

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results of these studies have been disseminated via presentations at international meetings (i.e. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meetings) and by publications in international high impact peer-review journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Research will continue to look at optimizing the protein recovery process.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Isoelectric solubilization and precipitation (ISP) processing is a protein recovery process where high or low pH conditions cause protein separation from insoluble fractions of the fish (i.e. bones, skin, scales, etc.) by solubilization. Using pH shifts, protein is recovered by precipitation and centrifugation. This process has been shown to provide efficient and favorable recovery rates when compared to other commercial processing techniques such as mechanical filleting or conventional methods involving separators and decanters (Taskaya et al., 2009). Traditionally, strong acids such as HCl are used in the process but organic acids have been shown to be more effective at reducing bacterial pathogens. Therefore, the aim was to compare the effects of the ISP process on total fat and protein recovery yields and proximate composition (% protein, % fat, % lipid and % ash) of recovered fractions of whole-gutted silver carp using different pH strategies and organic acid types. The compositional characteristics (fatty acid, amino acid and mineral profile) of recovered protein from the ISP-recovered protein from whole-gutted silver carp at different pH strategies and organic acid types were also compared. Functional properties (thermal denaturation [Tonset, Tmax, and ΔH]; viscoelasticity [G'], viscousity [G'']; texture properties [Kramer shear, Texture Profile Analysis, and torsion shear stress]; and color) of gels made from the ISP-recovered protein from whole-gutted silver carp at different pH strategies and organic acid types were also tested. The results of these studies showed that organic acids have the potential to recover protein and lipid from otherwise hard to process fish by ISP processing. The gels made from recovered carp protein show similar or improved functional, texture and color properties compared to Alaska Pollock surimi depending on the treatment and might be used for the development of restructured ?sh products and value-added for human consumption.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sell C, Beamer S, Jacek Jaczynski J, Matak, KE. 2014. Sensory characteristics and storage quality indicators of surimi franks nutritionally enhanced with omega-3 rich flaxseed oil and salmon oil. Journal of Functional Foods. Under Review (impact: 2.632, rank: 20/124).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Paker I, Beamer S, Jaczynski J, Matak* KE. 2013. pH-shift Protein Recovery with Organic Acids on Texture and Color of Cooked Gels. Food Chemistry. Under Review (impact: 3.655, rank: 6/128).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Tahergorabi R, Beamer SK, Matak KE, Jaczynski* J. Chemical properties of ?-3 fortified gels made of protein isolate recovered with isoelectric solubilization/precipitation from whole fish. Food Chemistry. 139(1-4):777-785 (impact: 3.655, rank: 6/128).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Matak, K.E.*, Maditz, K.H., Beamer, S.K., Barnes, K.M., & Kenney, P. B. The effect of dietary inclusion of conjugated linoleic acid in finishing feed on quality indicators of aged pork loin. Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 5(6):1-8. (impact: 1.691, rank: , rank: 32/57).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Paker, I., Beamer, S., Jaczynski, J., K.E. Matak*. The effect of organic acids on gelation characteristics of protein gels made from silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) protein recovered by isoelectric solubilization and precipitation. LWT- Food Science and Technology. 53(1):37-43. (impact: 2.545, rank: 18/128).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Paker, I., Beamer, S., Jaczynski, J. and K.E. Matak*. Compositional Characteristics of Materials Recovered from Headed Gutted Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) By Isoelectric Solubilization and Precipitation Using Organic Acids. Journal of Food Science. 78(3):E445-E451. (impact: 1.658, rank: 44/128).
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Tahergorabi R, Jaczynski J, Matak* KE. 2013. Electron Beam Inactivation of Foodborne Pathogens with an Emphasis on Salmonella. In: Gomez-Lopez VM, Bhat R, editors. Practical Food Safety: Contemporary Issues and Future Directions. Heboken: Wiley Blackwell Publishing. In press.

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Surimi, a lean source of fish protein, is consumed worldwide in various forms. Considerable increase in U.S. consumption of surimi products was observed in the 1980s but tapered off in recent decades. Consumer demand for foods enriched with omega-3 fatty acids including DHA and EPA has increased due to potential health benefits. Therefore, a nutritionally-enhanced surimi frank fortified with flaxseed or salmon oil was developed. Sensory evaluation, consumer acceptance and shelf-life studies were conducted. The value-added food products developed from surimi enable the seafood and aquaculture industries to diversify its product offerings with highly nutritious food products. PARTICIPANTS: Christin Sell, Graduate Student; Sarah Beamer, Research Assistant; Jacek Jaczynski, Associate Professor; Kristen Matak, Associate Professor. TARGET AUDIENCES: The value-added food products developed from surimi would increase highly nutritious product offerings to the seafood and aquaculture industries. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Flaxseed or salmon oil was added at 2 g/100g sample, franks without added oil served as a control. Product composition, quality indicators over a 21-d storage period and sensory evaluations were measured. The control had less total lipid than the oil-fortified franks (P<0.05). The oil-fortified franks were darker than the control (P<0.001) and color values did not change over time (P>0.05). Salmon oil franks had greater MDA concentrations (P<0.001); however, MDA did not change over time regardless of frank type (P>0.05). Frank pH decreased over time (P=0.011) for all frank types. There were differences in textural properties between frank types (P<0.05), with the flaxseed franks being softer and less gummy, cohesive and chewy than the control franks. Participants (n=79; age 18-35) evaluated product attributes (visual appeal, color, aroma, texture, flavor, and acceptability) on a hedonic scale; there were no differences (P>0.05) between franks. 54 panelists reported consuming sausage on a weekly to monthly basis and most (50/79) indicated interest in purchasing this type product. Results indicate that surimi franks were accepted by young adult consumers, which may indicate market potential of these types of products.

Publications

• Sell, Christin, Sarah Beamer, Jacek Jaczynski, Kristen E. Matak. 2012. Sensory characteristics and storage quality indicators of surimi franks nutritionally enhanced with omega-3 rich flaxseed oil and salmon oil. Finalist Product Development Division, Presentation COMP17-05. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Nutritionally-enhanced low-cholesterol egg sticks fortified with omega-3 rich oils (algae, menhaden, flaxseed, canola oil and a blend of these with krill oil) were developed. These egg sticks are called "YumEGGa" sticks and a trade mark application has been filed. Consumer sensory studies showed that the YumEgga(TM) sticks were well-liked and that there was a willingness to buy such a product. The findings from this research have resulted in the submission of a "disclosure of intellectual property" and a provisional patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office. PARTICIPANTS: Helenia Sedoski, Graduate Student; Kaitlin Maditz, Graduate Student; Nissan Kassis, Graduate Student; Sarah Beamer, Research Assistant; Jacek Jaczynski, Associate Professor; Kristen Matak, Associate Professor. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Eggs are an excellent source of protein; an average large egg provides 7 g of protein, 4 g of which are within the egg white. Eggs are one of the top 25 foods eaten and contribute 11% to daily calorie consumption. Unfortunately, eggs are also in the top 15 of foods that contribute to dietary saturated fat and cholesterol which is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one cause of death in the United States. Therefore, our first objective was to develop an omega-3 enriched fatty acid egg product by egg yolk removal and incorporation of high omega-3 FA oils into the egg whites. Freeze-dried egg whites were included to replace the protein lost with the yolk. The proximate composition (crude protein, total fat, moisture and ash) were similar to that of a whole egg control. The total fat of the experimental eggs contained a greater amount of n-3 FAs and significantly less cholesterol and saturated fat than the whole egg (P < 0.05). In a follow-up study, the sensory and quality parameters of the nutritionally-enhanced, low cholesterol, vacuum-packed, ready-to-eat (RTE) egg product similar those developed previously were tested over a 14-d storage period. Proximate composition, pH changes, lipid oxidation, color changes and consumer acceptance were examined. Differences were reported in attributes between samples (P<0.05) but sensory evaluation of the samples show that they were positively perceived, with a combined average overall liking score of 5.9 on a scale with 1 being "disliked extremely" and 9 being "like extremely". Ranking results support this conclusion with no significant differences in preference (P>0.05). The results indicate that the experimental eggs were accepted by consumers on the same level as mixed whole eggs and suggest market potential for this type of product.

Publications

• Sedoski, H., S. Beamer, J. Jaczynski, S. Partington, K. Matak. 2011. Sensory evaluation and quality indicators of nutritionally-enhanced egg product with omega-3 rich oils. LWT - Food Sciences and Technology. In Revision.
• Kassis N, Beamer SK, Matak KE, Tou JC, Jaczynski J. 2010. Nutritional composition of novel nutraceutical egg products developed with omega-3 rich oils. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 43(8):1204-1212.
• Kassis, N., S. Drake, S. Beamer, K. Matak, and J. Jaczynski. 2010. Development of nutraceutical egg product with omega-3-rich oils. LWT-Food Science and Technology. 43:777-783.