Effect of incorporation strategies of sesamol and chitosan nanoparticle-methylcellulose edible coating on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in deep-fried meatballs.

This study investigated the impact of incorporation of sesamol and chitosan nanoparticle-methylcellulose (CSNP-MC) edible coating on the moisture loss, oil uptake, lipid and protein oxidation, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in deep-fried meatballs. Sesamol was added to meatballs at either 0 mg/kg (control) or 30 mg/kg meat by three methods, i.e., (i) mixing sesamol into the meat mince without coating (SE), (ii) mixing sesamol into meat mince and followed by coating of the meatballs with 1 % CSNP-MC (SE-CT), and (iii) dissolving sesamol in CSNP-MC and the meatballs were coated with the mixture (SE-M-CT). Due to the barrier properties of the edible coating, meatballs from the SE-CT and SE-M-CT groups had lower levels of moisture loss, oil uptake and lipid oxidation compared to the control (no sesamol and no coating) and SE groups (P < 0.05). In addition, the SE-CT treatment resulted in lower protein oxidation and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) level, leading to reduced PAH4 levels and toxic equivalent quotient (TEQ_BaP) in the meatballs compared to the SE-M-CT treatment. These findings suggested that the incorporation of antioxidant of sesamol within the meat mince combined with edible coatings is an effective strategy to enhance the quality and safety of deep-fried meatballs by reducing oil uptake, and decreasing lipid and protein oxidation, PAH levels and the carcinogenic risk of PAHs by meatball consumption.