Micronized olive pomace: A sustainable and innovative strategy to improve the oxidative stability of omega-3 enriched salamis

This study explored the potential of Micronized Olive Pomace (MOP) to improve the oxidative stability of omega-3-enriched salamis while also offering a thorough examination of their technological, microbiological, and nutritional properties. Linseed oil gels containing different concentrations of MOP (0 %, 5 %, 10 %, and 15 %) were prepared and used to replace 30 % of the animal fat in salami, resulting in final MOP concentrations of 0 % (MOP_0%), 0.3 % (MOP_0.3%), 0.6 % (MOP_0.6%), and 0.9 % (MOP_0.9%) in the meat mass. The lipid reformulation did not negatively affect the salami ripening. The fat content of the reformulated treatments was reduced by 6.8 % to 8.1 %, compared to the control, which had 30.7 % fat, while the reformulated treatments contained between 28.2 % and 28.6 % fat. Additionally, the levels of alpha-linolenic acid increased from 0.28 to 1.61–2.23 g/100 g of sample. MOP significantly mitigated the increase in lipid oxidation caused by the inclusion of n-3 PUFAs, particularly in the MOP_0.9% treatment, which showed a 48 % reduction in TBARS values compared to the MOP_0% sample and only a 12 % increase compared to the control after 90 days of storage. This treatment showed a pronounced presence of beneficial volatile compounds from carbohydrate fermentation and amino acid catabolism. It also demonstrated the highest color stability during storage, evidenced by the lowest ΔE values. Thus, this study demonstrated the potential of MOP as an innovative ingredient to enhance the oxidative stability of meat products enriched with n-3 PUFAs, responding to a critical demand in the meat industry for healthier and more sustainable foods.